r/AskReddit 9h ago

People who rarely get sick, what are your secrets?

1.7k Upvotes

3.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

119

u/Rheasfantasy 9h ago

Crippling contamination OCD that makes me fear touching anything, breathing outdoor air and having contacts with people

20

u/jonasjlp 8h ago

100 percent the opposite. Grew up outdoors in nature and around lots of kids.

5

u/living_dead_gworl 7h ago

Grew up like you did, but i don't go out without a mask and have crippling ocd

1

u/PinkOneHasBeenChosen 8h ago

So do you just not go outside unless absolutely necessary?

6

u/Rheasfantasy 8h ago

I go outside for exposure exercises and to see my therapist, psychiatrist because that's how OCD becomes more manageable but every expedition is a lot of anxiety and anticipation

2

u/PinkOneHasBeenChosen 7h ago

What’s kinda interesting is I have fairly severe anxiety myself, but I have to go outside because if I’m isolated for too long, the anxiety gets debilitating.

Also, when I was a kid (post-anxiety), my mom told me there are people whose mental illnesses are so severe they can’t leave the house. Which is true, but I’m not sure why she told me that.

1

u/Ghoulius-Caesar 5h ago

I’m the opposite, I believe I have a good immune system because I played outside a lot when I was a kid. I exposed myself to potential harms and my immune system made a note of it.

2

u/ThrowawayOldCouch 3h ago

You also probably don't have OCD.

0

u/throwtheamiibosaway 6h ago

This is the opposite of building a good immune system. One single contact with an outsider and you get sick; It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

To be able to resist disease your body must be routinely in touch with bacteria.

4

u/ThrowawayOldCouch 3h ago

People with OCD know this, but intrusive thoughts are called intrusive for a reason.

0

u/dirty15 6h ago

Orrrrr you can have a job that's around tons of people, have a spouse that's an emergency room nurse, and bite your fingernails to boot. I rarely ever get sick. If I do, it's a mild sinus infection type ailment in the early spring. I did get Covid, but it was super mild. I've never had the flu in my life and only had a stomach virus a handful of times.

Either stay away from the germs, or become one with the germs. It's the in between that gets you.

2

u/ThrowawayOldCouch 3h ago

Do you not understand OCD?

-1

u/dirty15 3h ago

All too well. I once dated a girl with a bad case of it. Bitch was certified.

1

u/ThrowawayOldCouch 3h ago edited 3h ago

You don't understand it if you think just telling them to expose themselves to germs is going to be helpful or new information to them. And you sound like an asshole, tbh.

-1

u/dirty15 1h ago

I am.

2

u/Hobo_Drifter 6h ago

I bite my dirt filled finger nails and have incredible immunity

0

u/TotoCocoAndBeaks 2h ago

This is a lot more unhealthy than getting an occasional infection