Existential OCD

I have this exact thing quite often as well. Especially at night/evening. In fact I try to avoid talking/thinking about the subject because it often triggers a spiral. The only solution I have found is to do something else and distract my mind from the spiral (easier said than done of course). Time does fly! And it's unsettling. I don't have any other solutions for you, but please lmk if you find something else that works. You're not alone!

I understand that feeling very well. It's also completely normal to be bothered by stuff like this, OCD or not. I wouldn't worry too much about categorizing it as a specific OCD theme; it's just a thought that is bothering you. The first thing I would address is this goal of "crushing the thought with ERP." Remember that the point of ERP is not to get rid of the thoughts, disprove them, or fight them in any way. In fact, it's quite the opposite. The goal is to allow the thought to be there, and to sit with whatever feelings arise. Yes, sometimes more time passes than you realize. Yes, time keeps going forward. Yes, this may make you feel uncomfortable. You can try writing phrases like that down, or responding to the thoughts in that way. Welcome the feelings that arise, and just notice how they literally feel. Recognize the feeling: "this is anxiety," then simply notice everything you can about it. Where do you feel it? How intense does it feel? Do you feel tension anywhere? How does it feel to relax that tension? Notice how it changes; if it gets stronger, or if it starts to weaken. Pretend you're an alien life form that just inhabited a human body, and is learning what emotions are. As you do this, you will probably have a thousand scary intrusive thoughts. That's okay. They can be there, just don't latch onto them. Let them come and go as you keep your focus on your physical feelings. If the idea of passing time is really making you anxious, here's some practical advice: It's been shown that negative experiences are embedded in our memory almost instantaneously, while positive experiences take around 10-15 seconds of our full attention to really stick with us. This is our body's natural negativity bias (it made more evolutionary sense for us to remember bad things faster than good things). So what this means is, if you want to have a larger amount of positive memories, practice being more present, especially for positive experiences. When something makes you feel good, try to pause for 10-15 seconds and really savor and appreciate the moment. You will quite literally fill your brain with more positive experiences to remember when you think about the past, which will in turn make it feel as though more time as gone by. It's also been proven that trying new things (especially things outside your comfort zone), and doing more fulfilling things (charity work, helping others, joining a community) makes your life feel more "full" when you look back on it. You may look back on a year and feel as though it's been 5 years. I hope some of this helps!