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?

I’ve also got the excessive checking OCD for the exact same reasons. I started taking meds in May after fighting it for so long and I’m glad I did. I find the anxiety around my compulsions (checking) have lessened significantly. Also I have learned to try to incorporate mindfulness when checking. In other words be 100% in the moment and confident in your checking. “I am locking the door, I am turning the key and listening to it lock, I am taking the key out, etc”. You get the idea. Be 100% in the present which is difficult for us who are always worrying about what “might” happen if we didn’t check it that hundredth time. Hope that helps. :)

Thanks! I tried meds but didn’t like the side effects. If things get worse I might try them again. I do some self talk while I do the process but maybe I’ll try to be mindful like you are doing. Thanks again.

Hi and welcome! What has your therapist said about it? If coping methods actually keep us from getting better, have you considered setting a limit to the checking, and just leaving the house after you’ve hit that limit regardless of how you feel? Then, once you feel comfortable, reduce that limit even lower? Our seeking comfort might feel good, but it’s also okay to feel discomfort, and in sitting with that discomfort, we can realize that we have locked the door, we have turned off the stove, put dog has enough water for the day, we have washed our hands enough, and we’re okay!

Hi, thanks for the reply. meditation was one suggestion. Another was setting a time limit and leaving no matter what. I am a teacher and I was doing well with that before the school year started. Last week, I tired the timer and things got worse. I am going to try to drive better this week with it.

Replace “dog” with “cat” and I could have written that. It’s been a long process of waves of OCD since I was a kid but now that I’m an adult and live on my own, the checking can get bad. However, we recently upped the dose on my meds and it does seem to be helping a little.

Thanks for the responses! I actually was doing some ERP before I went back to work. It helped some but without normal stressors like work I was doing better. Now that I’m back, There is an uptick the time and challenge it takes to get out. That being said today was a better day.

I do the same thing and one of the things I do to help myself is pay attention when I am checking and say to myself as I check I trust myself in my head and then leave.

And, as one of the rules of the community states, this is not a suggestion to do this without you and your therapist agreeing on it! Good luck!

It’s tough to leave, because that’s the whole point of the compulsions: they really do make you feel better right there and then once you complete the ritual, but they’re only keeping the obsession around. A therapist I saw did mention that, with ERP, it will get worse, because you’re literally exposing yourself to the triggers that cause the obsessive thoughts you’re trying to get rid of, but it’s the only way, aside from medication. What would your therapist think about you trying when you have a vacation so that you have time to focus on it without it getting in the way of work? No matter what, you’re not alone in this, we’re all on the same path and I’m by no means an expert on compulsion avoidance!