January 06, 2021

For People With OCD — And Fearful Of Germs — The Pandemic Is Upending Years Of Therapy-STAT

The pandemic has made the majority of Americans feel more anxious, but for Renée and millions of people like her, the virus is the encapsulation of every fear they had ever experienced. Invisible. Seemingly on every surface. No treatment. Potentially fatal, with long-term effects that could last months or years. Before Covid, patients would work for months in therapy to overcome the discomfort of entering a public restroom or boarding a grimy train. Now, every single aspect of ordinary life, from a visit to a grocery store to the arrival of a package, posed the same threat as the bus terminal’s toilets. STAT, 01/06/2021