My compulsions are starting to run my whole day
Lately it feels like I’m planning my day around compulsions instead of actually living it. Checking the door, rereading messages, going back to make sure I turned something off. Each one seems small, but they pile up fast. I’ll lose an hour and then feel even more anxious because I’m behind on everything.
The worst part is that I know the checking won’t give me lasting relief. It helps for a few minutes, then the doubt comes back and I feel pulled into doing it again. Even simple tasks can turn into these long routines.
I’m trying to notice the urge without automatically acting on it, but some days that feels impossible. Has anyone found a practical way to interrupt the cycle when the compulsions start taking over?
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Alexander, the part about losing an hour and then feeling more anxious because you’re behind really hits home. That pressure can make the next urge feel even harder to resist.
I’ve had some luck setting a very small boundary, like delaying one check for two minutes while doing something else. I don’t try to convince myself the doubt is gone. I just let it sit there and return to the task. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes the urge drops enough that I can move on.
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@Debra_Chambers, the two-minute boundary sounds way more doable than trying to fight the whole compulsion at once. I like that you don’t wait until the doubt disappears, since that can turn into another thing to check.
I’ve been trying something similar with messages. I’ll notice the urge to reread, set a short timer, and leave the message alone until it goes off. The anxiety is still there at first, but sometimes it gets boring enough that I can get back to what I was doing.
The way the checking eats into the rest of your day is so draining. I’ve had better luck choosing one specific compulsion ahead of time, rather than trying to resist every urge at once.
For me, it was rereading a work message. I read it once, sent it, and then left my phone in another room while I started something else. The anxiety spiked for a while, but having a clear rule kept me from negotiating with the doubt.