- Username
- Anonymous
- Date posted
- 44w ago
Someone please explain
Why is reassurance a bad thing for OCD?
Why is reassurance a bad thing for OCD?
You'll stay in your comfornt zone, and you'll keep wanting MORE reassurance and each time you get it you feel like it's not enough so you CONSTANTLY NEED it and it doesn't help you beat the problem you'll just be simering in it for longer.
It will never be enough. Its bad for ocd because it can be ocd. It's a common compulsion to seek reassurance. It reinforces the walls to your comfort zone but ironically cages you within it. Your comfort zone is like a place of rest at the end of the day. Life gets uncomfortable when you leave it sometimes. Doesn't mean you should avoid going through discomfort especially when it benefits you in the end. Reassurance counteracts all that and provides shelter when you're supposed to be vulnerable. That's when you grow
Here’s an article about seeking reassurance and why it’s bad for those with OCD. The Psychology of Seeking Reassurance: https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/reassurance-seeking-ocd-anxiety-how-to-stop-cycle
Seeking reassurance tells your brain that your intrusions are important. And when something is important our brain tends to focus on it more, causing the frequency of the intrusions popping up in your head to go up. The more the intrusions pop up, the more anxiety we feel, the more compulsions we do and the more reassurance we seek. By doing that, we give attention to the intrusions and signal our brain again that they are very important, which leads to our brain focusing on them even more and increasing the frequency of them popping up in our head again goes up. This goes on and on and at some point it turns in to a vicious cycle.
My ocd makes me question everything. I don’t get it. what makes it want to attach to certain things? I don’t obsess over wether or not I like blue because it’s true I do like blue but other things like that, things that should be so simple for me to know is true ocd tries to take and make me second guess it. Even if I know for a logical fact that this thing is true or isn’t true. OCD will work so hard to try and convince me I’m wrongand even though I know I’m not wrong it eventually works and ends up convincing me I’m wrong and I spiral. Is this just part of the pattern how do I learn not to argue with my ocd cause that’s the problem. I try to test my ocd and argue with it but for every answer I have it has an answer to combat mine until it has me convinced I’m wrong about what I 100% know I’m not wrong about. It never stops even with things I thought I settled it like it has unlimited ways to prove to me that I’m wrong. It’s insane it makes me feel crazy. Sometimes I don’t even realize im performing a compulsion or I’m arguing with my ocd or testing it until it’s too late. It’s sneaky like that. Is this just a normal part of the cycle of OCD?
One fun thing about what I’ve experienced is that even if I go to people for reassurance, more often than not it doesn’t help and makes things worse. I see how from an outside perspective it looks like denial and the moment I open my mouth to talk about it the instant thought is “you’re faking it, you know it’s true and you’re faking it”. And it’s great when people say maybe you are this or that like it’s no big deal, …but it is? And then again it’s like maybe they see something I don’t?
I recently started medication as I have struggled with harm ocd. The thing is is that it’s not actually stopping the thoughts which I know is a given and it’s scaring me more without the anxiety (ruminating) and making me belive it’s possible. And I told this to my friend and she suggested anti psychotics This made me spiral because it made me think that I’m schizophrenia and no hate or judgment to people with schizophrenia it just scared me. I started worrying that I shouldn’t be around people and a horrible person ect I know reassurance is bad but I just need some advice bc I really don’t know what to do and I’m panicking
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