Does anyone have any tricks or things they say to themselves to stop them going back to check something (in my case the oven, plugs, anything that can start a fire, plants that could leak water (!) Lamps etc) it's just so difficult to jot check multiple times when j can't trust my own brain!!! I stand at the door trying to resist, and it's like ocd just makes me check?!
But to be honest, the longer the day went on the less I worried about it and until I would forget completely. Sometimes time between the compulsion is all you need
Very true, literally of I walk a certain distance past where I live that it's too far to go back I almost forget after a few mins..it the bit when I get physically and mentally stuck at the door!
Checking and reassurance has always been my main 2 problems! I have noticed the more you check, the worser things get! I've been resisting checking since yesterday afternoon, and the thought that I had is slowly drifting away, but I know if I would have gave in and checked I would have went back checking a million times and found something wrong each time, so I told myself that I wouldn't do a compulsion because that's what ocd wants you to do, it wants you to fall for its tricks, but if you can just sit with it for just a few mins you will see it will slowly start losing its power.
I say out loud to myself when I do something like for instance turning off a burner I have started saying out loud “I am turning off the burner” and when I get a compulsion to check I remind myself that I said it out loud so I know it’s done. It doesn’t make the urge go away but it’s enough for me to remind myself that it’s OCD that’s making me check
This is a great idea! I may even try this!
@Miserable For some reason OCD makes our memory seem untrustworthy!! I have found saying out loud makes me doubt it less bc I can remember saying and hearing it said
I need to remember to do this! I used a bit but it can really help!
Every thought I get, I automatically remember acting on it. It can be the most bizarre thought possible, but my kind is gonna make me believe every time, and each time I would check, seek reassurance, and so on, I found it all made it worse and seem even more real. I've been sitting with a thought from yesterday and I have wanted to check so bad that it didn't happen, but as soon as I do, my mind is gonna find something to cause the thought to spiral and get even worse. So I am still sitting here and haven't done any compulsions, and I can feel the thought slowly losing its power. Saying that it's OCD playing tricks again out loud, I believe would help me as well because u will remember saying it aloud.
@Miserable Yes!!! Your effort will pay off!! Keep trying :) you got this
OCD does make you check--- don't give into the urges as much as possible. Can you sit with the distress that you may or may not start a fire, you may or may not leak water with plants or leave lamps on? What's the worst that could happen if you miss it? If you have a therapist, it may be helpful to build a hierarchy on sitting with the fears/discomfort.
I keep trying to tell myself that. Like even if the upstairs windows are open..so what. I'm trying the hierarchy thing now, theres a few things at 3 or 4 j can tackle and build from there I guess! People leave things plugged in and on everyday and no one thinks anything of it!
what’s helped me is just going back one time at first then gradually it’s easier to not go back at all
It’s easier said than done. I’ve gotten better about this. I used to check my house camera throughout the day as reassurance which is just another form of checking
I used to take a photo of my locked door so if I felt the need to get up and check, I’d just look at the photo
I haven't done that yet, I have wanted to but then I thought that might become another thing I had to do and would be hard to stop..
@hannah_k I do this same thing
Hi, I’m new here. I am a checker. I need to check the stove and other household appliances before I leave the house. I think I am afraid that I will burn the house down with my dog In it. I know this is not rational and the chances of it happening are incredibly low but I worry. I get stuck In loops while I’m checking things over and over. Sometimes things are better and I can get out of my house relatively easy. Other times it takes me 10-30 minutes to leave. I am seeing a therapist but I am not taking medication. Does anyone deal with similar issues? Has anyone found any strategies that help them cope?
Hello, I'm new to this group. Ive been dealing with ocd since I was 5 and I am now 25. It's awful. I spend at least 4 and a half hours checking everything in my house (outlets, candles, lights) and it gets 10× worse at night. Does anyone have any words of encouragement or advice? I'm so tired.
I have horrible checking intrusive thoughts where if I don’t check something before leaving the room/apartment/building, I’m convinced the worst will happen. I believe the .1% is more likely than the 99.9%. I’m worried if I don’t check the stove there will be a gas leak or fire, if I don’t check the outlets there will be an electrical fire, if I don’t check the faucets there will be flooding. It’s like my brain doesn’t believe me. I check hundreds of times before leaving and still I don’t feel secure in everything being good and end up rechecking. I take pictures and it’s like I don’t believe the pictures. I’ll go to my girlfriends but have to Uber back just to check something that is most likely okay and it’s Eating up my life. It is ruining my life and I have no idea how I can be an adult or hold down a job with this. I’m terrified of causing some horrible thing cause I didn’t check. I feel hopeless
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
