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Feel so depressed and paranoid - I think people think that I smell

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depressed21652
depressed21652

I'm in my mid-twenties and am female. I have suffered with anxiety and depression since I was a teenager, tried CBT and Fluoextine and Citalopram. Came off Citalopram at the beginning of the year, and have been anti-d free since.

Everything has been going great, I started a new job, have been exercising lots and eating healthily, and my mental attitude has been much better and I have been feeling positive about myself and life.

At my last job, where I'd been for many years, there was often a weird musty smell around a space about 12 foot square, and my colleagues always joked it was an elderly coworker. People sitting immediately around me were forever sneezing, sniffing and complaining of a bad smell. No one ever told me it was me or hinted or anything, and I am a clean person so thought it couldn't be me. An outspoken girl said it smelt "unpleasant" and like "sweaty salmon" on a few occasions. One time she sprayed deodorant into the air. She sat about 8 foot from me.

I started my new job and over the past few weeks I have noticed a weird smell near where I sit but only when I walk away and come back a few minutes later. To me it smells like an onion-y smell. People walking past my desk constantly sniff literally as they walk past my desk.

Yesterday a colleague said it smelt like gone off food, and today she looked at me, called another colleague over and whispered but I heard the words "smells"and "pi55" and she asked the other girl if she could smell it too and she agreed.

About a week ago, the other girl was talking about someone using the communal toilets and leaving urine all over the seat and she said how "that person must be getting lots of it on themselves too". Again, I didn't twig as I never leave urine on the seat and always make sure I clean myself thoroughly.

I use public transport to commute in to work and people on the train around me constantly sniff. Last week an elderly man sat behind me and sniffed literally every five seconds for the whole journey. I thought it must be because I smell and I was getting so paranoid and hurt, I wanted to turn around and punch him (I would never do anything like that).

Last week my manager asked me how I found the "hygiene" in the office which I thought was strange and then elaborated that he meant my commute. That made no sense but at the time it didn't click.

I shower every morning, wash my hair daily and use antipersperant and deodorant. I apply Perspirex nightly and use body spray and perfume. I clean sweaty areas regularly and carry change of underwear and wipes etc with me, I am so paranoid about my personal hygiene. I also started taking Chlorophyll supplements and reducing caffeine.

I do have greasy sebhorreic dermatitis but I'm treating it.

I think I do tend to be quite a sweaty person and my crotch does get sweaty but only usually when I work out, in which case everywhere else gets sweaty too.

Am I being paranoid?! No one has outright said that I smell, ever. This is making me so depressed, I feel humiliated, but I am a clean person. I feel suicidal. Please help me, I am really at the end of my tether, I am so unhappy. I don't feel like my family want to help, and I don't really have any close friends to talk to. This post is 100% serious.

17 likes, 165 replies

165 Replies

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  • liz57574
    liz57574 depressed21652

    Edited

    Anyone please help find a cure i relate to each and evryone that is a part of this discussion its very depressing and ive tried evrything eveything i dont know what else to do i cant concentrate at work or at school i literally run away from people nonetheless no one close to me smell it i do in rare ocassion im also very clean Im always dressed to the nines i keep buying new clothes to evade whatever the smell is i I smell my clothes and its smell like perfume yet this stigma of whatever the smell is doesnt go away and i dont even know what its is or how to cure its like it fills a room but i cant smell it niether can my family yet any strangers gets near me is constant sniffing coughing help me please by the way im 25
    • Eli93
      Eli93 liz57574

      Posted

      Do you have any symptoms besides the odor? White tongue, itchy body, digestive issues, skin problems,etc?
    • Eli93
      Eli93 liz57574

      Posted

      Trust me I know what you are going through. I'm 22 about to turn 23 and I'm probably going to have to spend my birthday indoors this year due to my problem sad We're in our 20's, we're supposed to be living life going out and instead we're stuck with this unfortunate situation. I totally get it.
  • bret
    bret depressed21652

    Posted

    I know exactly what you are going through. I am 38 and this just started happening to me this year. People use to tell me how good I smell. Now all I hear Is how bad I smell. One day I overheard my co-workers making fun of me saying I stink. Then when I try to confront them about it they said we was talking about something else. Then all of a sudden my co-workers started coughing and sneezing everytime they come near me. Then my mom, sister and girlfriend say they don't smell anything. I know it's not in my head because regular people I don't know start coughing and sneezing when they come near me. I had to quit my job because I couldn't take coworkers making fun of me everyday. I tried to get a job somewhere else but during the interview they had this weird look on there face like I smell like something dead. So now I have no job and I don't leave the house because every where I go people cough and sneeze at me. I take medication now for anxiety attack.
  • liz57574
    liz57574 depressed21652

    Posted

    Hi ive been trying ciprinol which is found in coconut oil pills and it seems to be working . Like the other girl mentioned it might be this thing called candida . Anything with ciprinol try to take it and inform your doctore you think it might be candida . Try your best to take tea that helps with detoxification. And take a bath in epsom salt . It works. Know try to clean all you clothes to remove any lingering smell once you read what candida is youll understand why you sometimes cant smell it . Dont wear any perfume at all specially if you smole my best bet is use a cream that has light odor thats it no more than that . Good luck please let me know your progress and i want to give you my email so we can keep in touch is always good to have a friend through this especially when you feel like your going crazy
    • Eli93
      Eli93 liz57574

      Posted

      I think you are right. Candida is such an underrated health topic to talk about. Most doctors don't want to hear it. Seek out a naturopathic doctor that's what I'm planning on doing. Hope all is well.
  • jeanP1994
    jeanP1994 depressed21652

    Posted

    Hi my name is jean pierre im a 22 years old i al from france and i have the same issue as you.in the "metro" and the bus i start being unconfortable and start sweating because of people's reaction if anyone touch his nose or sneeze i say tomyself its because if me and in class its the same thing.

    I am a sweaty guy so i take 2 showers every day one in the morning and one when i go back home and i use déodorant and body wash and perfum but i still being paranoid and unconfy when sitting near some body.

    But i think the best thing to do is to go to someone you know and esk him if you smell.personaly i did it i asked 3 friends and they said they only smell perfum and i yave a girlfriend who i sleep next to every night and she doesnt smell anything in my opinion so for me i think it only paranoïa and i feel your pain because sometimes i get so angry and i just wanna leave class and go home.

    anyway i suggest you ask someone you knw if you have an odor thats what would solve your problems.

    Hope to hear from you soon

  • Eli93
    Eli93 depressed21652

    Posted

    I know EXACTLY what you are going through. I used to live a normal life months ago. It all started around the end of May/Beginning of June of this year (2015) for me. I went back and did a timeline of when I first noticed these symptoms and I can't point my finger to what caused it. However, I used to take a lot of illegal drugs ranging from X, to shrooms, and drank heavily. Now add stress and a lack of a good diet. It all stems from the gut. I honestly think it may be due to either a hormonal issue or fungal issue. There is a possibility that it could be one of those rare disorders such as TMAU but I'm confused as to whether you could get it anytime in life or if you have to have it from the moment that you were born. In my case, I think it may be a severe internal fungal problem.

       I too have been suffering so much. My social life has gone downhill. I avoid social situations. I don't know how i muster up the courage to go to work. I work at a retail store (Banana Republic) and deal with so many reactions form people. Sniffing is the #1 reaction I receive. Then there's coughing, clearing throat, and nose touching. Sometimes when I'm done taking a shower, I can smell this weird smell coming from inside my nose that I can never shake off. At work, I can smell it slightly but the reactions from others tell me that they can smell it far more. I ask my mom and siblings and friends and they say that they don't smell anything, but yet they sniff their lives away. This is tearing me apart. Like some, i've thought about suicide but that would be selfish and if I was living a normal life before then there has to be a solution.  I have gone to several docs and they say they can't smell anything but yet they sniff in front of me. My bloodwork is fine everything seems to be functioning olay (liver, pancreas,etc). So now I'm going to a naturopathic doctor to see if they can help me out. Are there any other symptoms that you have noticed? Candida may be the culprit here, just a thought. I'll keep you posted and hang in there. We will all be cured.

    • adams72373
      adams72373 Eli93

      Posted

      Please dont forget to update if found any cure because i suffering the same problem.
    • Eli93
      Eli93 adams72373

      Posted

      Will do. Right now I'm on the strict candida diet, taking natural antifungals, and probiotics. Some days I smell okay but others I smell soooo bad. I'm hanging in there until January 20th that's when I see the naturopathic doctor. I will keep you posted and will share all the info and things I've tried in order to help out.
  • adams72373
    adams72373 depressed21652

    Posted

    Please i want share  my experience with you as well because i am passing through the same problem exactly how you just explain yourself, but the only difference is that am a man you are a woman.

    please reply me if you are still on the site all any other person could help.

    thanks.

  • adams72373
    adams72373 depressed21652

    Posted

    Ask your GP to test you for H pylori. I have been passing through same smelling problem for many years now, until early this year i asked my GP to test me for H pylori which came out positive and that was after mush research done online to figure out what was wrong with me. another problem now is to cure the bacteria called H pylori because gave me antibiotics but did not work for me but it does working for some people. i am still fighting to cure the H pylori with natural herb.

    Please update if any person know to cure H pylori

  • nick34171
    nick34171 depressed21652

    Posted

    For Malodour issues, body, halitosis issues its worth googling 'mebo' I cant pit full site address as it wont be accepted on here. But they cover alot of issues regarding malodour and very informative.
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