Cyclospora, Food Safety, and OCD: How to Respond Without Letting OCD Take the Wheel

Jul 16

If you've been following the news lately, you've probably seen headlines about the current Cyclospora outbreak affecting multiple states. Naturally, many people have questions about what they should be eating, how to reduce their risk, and what precautions are appropriate.

For many people, this is simply another news story they'll briefly notice before going about their day. Others may make a temporary change to what they buy or eat. But for someone with OCD or an anxiety disorder, it can feel like validation that every contamination fear they've ever had was right. Over the past week, I've heard variations of the same question from many clients:

"How do I know if I'm being reasonable... or if OCD is taking over?"

It's a great question. Two people can do the exact same behavior for completely different reasons. That's why I spend less time looking at what someone is doing and more time understanding why they're doing it.

OCD Loves Real News Stories

One of the reasons OCD can feel so convincing is that it often latches onto possibilities that exist in the real world. That's what makes outbreaks, recalls, and health headlines so difficult - since the danger isn't imaginary and the uncertainty is real. Many people with OCD assume recovery means convincing yourself that everything is safe. But that's never really been the goal. The goal is learning to respond the way you normally would if OCD wasn't calling the shots, making thoughtful decisions while accepting that no precaution can reduce risk to zero.

Following Public Health Guidance Is Not OCD

Sometimes people worry that if they take any precautions, they're "giving in" to OCD. I don't see it that way. When there's a legitimate public health concern, it makes sense to follow recommendations from trusted health organizations. Washing produce, paying attention to recalls, or temporarily changing what you buy can all be reasonable responses. The tricky part is noticing when those reasonable precautions slowly become driven by a need to feel completely certain.

There Isn't One "Perfect" Decision Right Now

One of the hardest parts of this outbreak is that there isn't one universally correct answer. Health officials are still working to identify the exact source. Until they have more information, people are making different decisions based on the same evidence. Some people aren't changing anything at all. They're continuing to buy and eat the foods they normally would while staying aware of updates from public health officials.

Others are making temporary changes, such as cooking leafy greens, avoiding certain produce for the time being, or purchasing produce from local farmers markets because that feels like a reasonable choice for them. None of these choices are inherently "the OCD choice." They can all be thoughtful, reasonable responses depending on the person's understanding of the available information, their values, and—most importantly—the reason they're making that decision.

I think both of these responses can be reasonable since this is a true uncertainty. Even the experts can't tell us which choice is completely risk-free. So instead of trying to find the "perfect" answer, we're left doing what we do every day in life: looking at the information we have, making the best decision we can, and accepting that there will always be some uncertainty we can't eliminate.

Looking at the Function, Not Just the Behavior

Imagine three different people.

Person #1 decides to cook their spinach for a few weeks until investigators learn more about the outbreak.

Person #2 buys produce from a local farmers market because that feels like a reasonable choice for them.

Person #3 spends hours researching grocery stores, checking recalls multiple times a day, washing vegetables repeatedly, avoiding restaurants entirely, and asking everyone around them whether they think it's safe.

The first two people made a decision and moved on. The third person is still trying to answer the question, "How can I know for sure?" That's where OCD tends to sneak in. The focus shifts away from making a reasonable decision and toward trying to eliminate uncertainty altogether.

When Caution Becomes Compulsion

OCD usually isn't satisfied with "reasonable” because it wants absolute certainty. That might sound like:

"Maybe I should wash this one more time..."
"What if I missed one tiny spot?"
"Maybe I shouldn't eat any produce at all."
"I should check the CDC website one more time."
"Can someone tell me if this is safe?"

Notice that each of these thoughts has the same goal: To feel completely certain before moving on. Unfortunately, OCD has a frustrating rule: The more certainty you chase, the more uncertain you feel.

A Question I Often Ask Clients

Instead of asking yourself: "Am I safe?"

Try asking: "Am I making a reasonable decision based on the information available, or am I trying to make uncertainty disappear?"

In real life, we almost never have complete information. We make decisions every day without guarantees. We drive knowing accidents can happen. We get on airplanes knowing delays and turbulence exist. We wash our hands without expecting that we'll never get sick again. Food is no different. We can lower risk, but we can't erase it.

What Recovery Might Look Like

If OCD has attached itself to this outbreak, recovery could look like:

Reading recommendations from a trusted public health source instead of checking multiple websites throughout the day.
Choosing whether you want to temporarily cook certain produce or continue eating produce you're comfortable with and allowing yourself to stick with that decision.
Resisting the urge to repeatedly wash, inspect, or research your food beyond what is reasonably recommended.
Accepting that there isn't a decision that comes with a 100% guarantee.

Recovery doesn't mean ignoring the news or refusing to take reasonable precautions. Recovery also doesn't mean chasing certainty until you finally feel "safe enough."

The Bigger Picture

One of the things I appreciate most about ICBT is that it doesn't ask us to pretend uncertainty isn't there. Uncertainty is part of life. It always has been and always will be. The work is learning to recognize when OCD takes a normal uncertainty and starts adding extra rules, extra checking, and extra "what ifs" in an attempt to feel completely certain. This outbreak is a good example of that. There are reasonable precautions people can take. There are thoughtful decisions to make. And there is still uncertainty. That's okay.

The goal isn't to make the uncertainty disappear before you live your life. The goal is to trust yourself to make reasonable decisions, accept that some uncertainty will always remain, and keep moving forward anyway.