is getting on nocd a compulsion?
i feel like getting on this app is a compulsion, but it brings me so much comfort knowing there’s people out there like me. and knowing i’m not alone
It's tough because anything can be a compulsion. The way I understand it is that it's the way that you do something. Like if you feel as though you are compelled to do something then it might be a compulsion. Sometimes when I journal it's a way of getting thoughts off my chest, but other times when I journal it's compulsive and I feel as though I have to journal or something scary will happen if I don't work out my thoughts in that exact moment.
Sammmmmme I go on here anytime I’m thinking I don’t have ocd so I can prove to myself that I do have it(which I do bc I’ve been diagnosed)
I definitely feel this sometimes, but on the other hand I do it because I enjoy listening to others and hearing what they have to say
oh 100%. There are a few people I have had to almost aggressively say they needed to delete the app. the hack to identify a compulsion is- is it something you are doing that has the end goal if getting rid of anxiety and discomfort AND is it something you are doing for extended periods of time. For me, google was a BAD compulsion and Reddit. I would sit at my desk at work and have 10 tabs open ( because I couldn't lose the last tab that had that ALMOST PERFECT answer I had found) but I needed more and I would get on reddit and read post after post looking for someone who experienced EXACTLY what I was going through so I could know I wasn't alone, I was not crazy, and I would spend 8 hours a day doing this if not more. And I really couldn't control it. My work suffered ALOT. When I got with an NOCD therapist she said I had to get off the web. took a week of feeling like I was detoxing from some drug but finally I broke the grip and I actually felt SO MUCH better. OCD is stupid because doing the things that give you INSTANT relief and the WORST things you can do for treatment, but doing the things that cause you distress are the things that will eventually turn your OCD upside down and empty it of its power. Short term pain-Long term gain is what I have been told and its reversible, short-term gain-long term pain.
I think this is me aswell (right now actually), somedays I go extended amounts without researching but whenever I feel triggered I go right back to it. I always think, okay once I feel a little better then I will be able to stop. Or I'll fear that If I don't make myself feel better I wont be able to function at work!
@virtual diary - that was me 100% i would say " ill just do 30 minuets to give me enough to chill me out so I can get some work done" and 30 minuets turned into 5 hours and no work got done.
@TexasOCD41 - And you quit cold turkey? I really struggle with rumination aswell.
@virtual diary - I did, i made MINOR slips, ( 5 minuets before i would catch myself and force myself to stop) it really did help. I wont claim its easy. Rumination is difficult too because its so sneaky but I would just remind myself its OCD, I have better uses of my time and energy and keep redirecting until eventually the rumination stopped.
Sometimes I feel like my life would be more empty without OCD. Even though it causes me so much stress and anxiety, I feel like that stops me from being bored. Sounds silly because I know that everybody STRIVES to be relieved of OCD and the trouble it causes. I guess I just feel like having OCD makes me different from other people (and I like to be bold and stand out). Without it, I’d just be like everybody else. And that’s why I fear NOT having it; that would mean I truly am just like everybody else and my thoughts are real. Idk. It’s also nice to be part of this community where we all push eachother forwards and celebrate eachother for all the things we do. I don’t want to lose that.
I always feel so lonely and isolated with ocd. I feel like I cannot talk to anybody about it. I haven't told anybody about my worst thoughts, not even my boyfriend who has been so so understanding about it. Then I see this mutual friend I just followed liking ocd posts on Instagram about similar themes to me. It makes me feel so relieved knowing that it's not just me struggling with ocd, and that people I know also have it. Makes me feel not so alone.
Sometimes after I’ve done something „risky“ on my phone or something that makes me uncomfortable or leaves me insecure, I go on this app here to read/like/comment. This might be a compulsion.
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
