what are some of the worries or habits that mysophobics (dirt haters) have when eating out at restaurants?

Question

mysophobia is the morbid fear of dirt or contamination.

I think that restaurants (the place where one can never be sure about how the food was made or if the dishes are really clean) can be frustrating for people with such a phobia.

If you are mysophobic or think you can relate to such a phobia, i would like to know what worries you have when you go to a restaurant. Do you have any habits to get around these worries?

For example, i know that i sometimes fear that the restaurant mugs are contaminated and so i sip from the side of the mug that a left-handed person sips from, thinking that less mouths would have touched this side.

How about you?

Answer 1

Fear that the plates. silverware, glasses, and cups have not been adequately cleaned.
Fear that the chair and table haven't been cleaned from numerous prior customers.
Fear that dirt or contaminants were introduced during cooking.
Fear that the cook or server didn't wash after using the bathroom.

Unless you are feeling confident in your ability to deal with these and multiple other possibilities, don't put yourself in this stressful environment.

Try desensitization therapy based on treatment of OCD.

Answer 2

I took care of the free along time ago. I was a sickly youth and went thru alot of sick days and learned pretty much from that experience that you can't stop germs, you can't prevent dirt, and your not doing yourself or your immune system any favours by babing it. Your actually making your immune system weaker. Really the OVERLY morbid fear of "unseen germs" is more a unrealistic view of the world, and less a understanding of how to pervent sickness. Because in all reality the best way to be able to handle germs isn't to avoid them, but to come into contanct with them. Now I'm not talking about the flu or any diease stronger then that. But in our day-2-day lives the worse thing we come across is the good old common cold, which the best way to have a gaurd against is not cleaniness as much as having an immune system strong enough to handle it. See like your situation, as soon as your hand hit the cup you were contaminated, just as bad as if you put it in your mouth, sometimes worse actuall, could grow in strength on your hand, (if its able to combat against the OVERWELMING number of vicious micros that make your skin a tropical forest of little criters.) It would actually be in stronger quanity and quality. That aside it wouldn't matter if you have the anti-bodies your immune system makes to combat such things. Really it ends up being a control issue, with something in all reality you can only take some preventive measures for, you can't completely pervent. But this also comes down to a person indivdiuality which can make us have all sorts of... qualities... ehehe, so really if it doesn't destroy your experience (you handle it quite healthy actually) then its not such a phobia. But I used the perception I've stated above to accept that with the immune system, that, that doesn't kill you makes you stronger! So don't worry if it didn't kill the person before you it only made them stronger and it well make you stronger to!!! As a concequence of my actions I'm now what they call a carrier, which means I get other people sick WAY before they get me, I have the antibodies they don't muahahahahah! but again I get sick real hard and fast on the new stuff, but bounce back twice as quick. Made junior high-high school suck thou, I had to lie when that I was sick....rrrrr......