Overwhelming fear of dog feaces...Please tell me im not alone =(

[xjessx]

Okay this is anxiety provoking having to think about the stuff and shame to even post, but ive been afraid of the "stuff" for quite some years now, But the past year its gone a lot further and feel its causing a lot of extra stress with life.
It effects so many aspects things such as
-I wont touch the dog because he's "infected"
-Must wash hands after touching my walking shoes, until my hands are clean anything on me i touch eg hair etc is infected and has to be washed that night.
-When im out walking (walk 3 hours a day) i have to watch every step i take, if i cant see the ground i get very anxious and i get nervous if i walk on pavements i havnt been on in a while.
-I wont walk on grass unless absolutely unavoidable
-The floor i think is infected all through our house and if i think about it i get anxious about it.
I dont even know why im so anxious but i really feel i need to talk to someone who may have similar issues and may have more of a grasp on the whole thing then i feel i have.
My main issue is my eating disorder and i think the two may be related...
But funnily enough im a very messy person, so i dont think its ocd or anything... im just at a loss and need someone who understands at all to talk to, feel so alone with this =( xxx

[Neversayshouldhave]

Hi, you are not alone, my wife too has the same anxieties. My wife received CBT, are you able to talk to someone? It helped to talk about it, her anxieties are still there but her way of thinking has changed and helped her deal with any issues.
Try not to feel alone, we are here if you need to talk.

Take care

[xjessx]

Neversayshouldhave Thankyou for replying! Its heartening to hear she has found something that has helped her deal with the issue, it sounds funny but its awful to be scared constantly and have to watch everything irrationally... Ile look into it but unlikely unless i go IP for my eating disorder which may give me some access to help around it as i think the sort of issue is common with ed sufferers and i really have no idea how to even try to tackle the issue

[Scaredy-cat]

It could be ocd even if you are a messy person, i believe fear of contamination of some kind is quite common for ocd. I kind of understand what you are saying, i have similar things though not as severe. Its probably a good idea to mention it to whoever is in charge of your treatment, if you are having any

[ontheverge]

Seriously. I have the same thing. Mine developed into a fear of grass because I knew that's where dog feces were most likely to be. Which is crazy because I'm quite the environmentalist...but get strange looks when I say I hate grass :) I've been like this since I was a kid. As an adult it's gotten much worse. I have major panic attacks if I accidentaly step in it and throw out the shoes it touched. I've thrown out an almost new pair of work shoes because of that. It's stupid. I do the same thing of watching every step I take outside as well. That only started after a few trips to New York when I realized some people just let their dogs crap on the sidewalk and don't pick it up!!!! Anyways, you are so not alone in this at all.

[xjessx]

Im sorry you suffer too ontheverge, i fully get what you mean about grass, i look like an idiot if i have to walk on it as if im looking for hidden bombs! I live in absolute fear of standing in any, somehow ive managed to avoid doing so for the past 4-5ish years (as far as i know anyway). And i get what you mean about side walks =( here in New Zealand dogs do that too and its awful cuse there always out running lose with irresponsible owners not fencing yards!
Its such a hard thing to even begin to get over because its something humans do detest, its not like you can make yourself like the stuff UGH. I just dont even know where to begin and its much harder then i thought to find people who suffer from the fear.
Thankyou Scardy-cat for your suggestion, ive just lost my psychologist who left her job suddenly so are alone at the moment but may get someone new when they fill her spot who may be more keen to work on the issue xx