I’m getting to the point where my OCD signs are harder to brush off. It’s not just being particular or liking things a certain way. I’ll get stuck on a thought, feel a spike of anxiety, and then repeat something in my head or check the same thing again to get temporary relief.
The frustrating part is that I usually know the fear doesn’t make much sense, but knowing that doesn’t stop the urge. Sometimes I lose a lot of time going back over small details, wondering if I missed something or caused a problem. Then I feel embarrassed because it sounds minor when I explain it, even though it can take over my attention.
I’ve started noticing how much reassurance I look for too. I tell myself I’m just being careful, but really I’m trying to make the uncertainty disappear. It never stays gone for long. I think that’s the part I can’t ignore anymore.
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@Ricardo_Clark, noticing that reassurance only gives temporary relief was a big clue for me too. I started labeling it in the moment as “the urge to get certainty” instead of treating each thought like a problem I had to solve.
One concrete thing that helped was delaying the check by five minutes while doing something else. I still felt anxious, but I saw that the feeling could drop without getting an answer. It didn’t fix everything overnight, but it made the cycle a little less automatic. Talking with an OCD-informed therapist could help too, especially since this is taking up so much of your attention.
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That “urge to get certainty” label is a useful way to separate the thought from the action. I tend to treat the thought like an emergency, so naming the urge might give me a second before I start checking.
The five-minute delay sounds manageable too. Did you set a timer, or just decide to wait while doing something specific? I could probably try it with checking messages or the door, since those are easy for me to repeat without noticing.
That label, “the urge to get certainty,” seems really useful. I’ve had times where I treat the thought like it needs an immediate answer, and naming what’s happening might help me step back from it.
The five-minute delay is a good idea too. I like that it doesn’t demand I feel calm first. Even staying with the discomfort for a few minutes without checking would probably show me that anxiety can shift on its own.