InfiniteLoop
- Date posted
- 6y
Lark G.Lark G.
- Date posted
- 6y
Same. I had this and was able to get over it by not googling. However with contamination ocd. I’m soooo repulsed that I can’t apply the technique. It’s really hard
orangeyorangey
- Date posted
- 6y
I’ve had this very badly. E.g spending 3+ hours a night obsessively googling symptoms, at one point. To be honest, I think I had to go through that to finally realize that a) it actually wasn’t decreasing my anxiety, and b) that I will NEVER reach a point of certainty due to the very nature of this illness. I tried to get into the habit of asking myself, “is what I’m doing right now helping or harming me, in the long run?” as soon as I can recognize that I’m slipping into ruminations.
InfiniteLoopInfiniteLoop
- Date posted
- 6y
It’s so hard to stop. It’s almost like being addicted to a drug and knowing that if you’d just give in once, you’d feel a little better. I’m struggling pretty hard with this lately, but I’m getting better at it.
orangeyorangey
- Date posted
- 6y
Yeah it’s awful. I just gave in now to a 20-30 minute google session :( It’s so hard to just ignore a new physical “symptom” that you’ve never felt before.
InfiniteLoopInfiniteLoop
- Date posted
- 6y
A part of me wants to block google on my phone so I *can’t* do it, but then I’m not really learning anything by forcing it, I guess... ?
orangeyorangey
- Date posted
- 6y
@InfiniteLoop Something my therapist recommended is to do “data collection” on your compulsions (googling). Meaning to write down in a spreadsheet whenever you give in to a compulsion, what triggered it, for how long you do the rituals, and what rituals you do. For me, doing this diligently and then actually being able to see that I was spending 3 hours a night googling things and that lo and behold the next day I STILL felt just as awful kinda helped to put things into perspective a bit after doing the data collection for 4-5 days.
InfiniteLoopInfiniteLoop
- Date posted
- 6y
@orangey That’s a great idea! I think I’ll try that
orangeyorangey
- Date posted
- 6y
@InfiniteLoop Awesome, let us know how it goes.
Related posts
bsbsbdnsnsn
- Date posted
- 25w
using chat gpt
i really struggle with anxiety because on my OCD (not professionally diagnosed but i’ve been experiencing a lot of symptoms for many years that’s it’s safe to assume i have it). the only way to relieve my stress is to google. But google never gave me proper answers or i just ended up more anxious than to begin with. Instead i started using chat gpt as a quick was to get reassurance. i feel bad using it tho because i know it’s just a compulsion to go and seek reassurance to calm my anxiety but if i dont atleast google something i end up spiralling anyways. it feels like no matter what i do ill be anxious .
lilylove0
- Date posted
- 16w
Should i delete google and safari?
I have a bad obsession with googling EVERYTHING and I mean things like health issues I’m constantly looking things up on google everyday , it don’t matter if I just got bit by a mosquito I’ll google it to make sure it nothing bad will happen to me or if the mosquito bite looks okay and etc , I’ve noticed my OCD symptoms bad here recently and looking up every health condition on google is one of them .
lexalove63
- Date posted
- 11w
Googling for reassurance
This might be super specific, but something I struggle with is feeling the need to consistently look up things for reassurance. I feel the need to look up the same things over and over again just to make sure. Example: googling what to do in serious situations like a car crash, if someone’s having a heart attack, seizure, etc. I’m (soon to be) a healthcare professional and I feel like I know these things like the back of my hand. I feel like if I ever get to these (extremely unlikely) situations, I won’t know what to do. I feel the need to constantly reassure myself the proper protocol for situations that will probably NEVER happen. Anytime I think of this possibility, I can’t help but become trapped in a spiral of googling what to do. It’s come to a point that I’ve started noting down what to do over and over again if these situations happen. I really just want to know if anyone relates.
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