is avoiding certain tasks some form of compulsion? when i remember i need to do something that seems uncomfortable, i postpone it with other more comfortable tasks until i forget (e.g: washing face instead of doing the skincare i planned, organizing my fridge instead of cooking when i was going to the kitchen only to make some food) all of that to "feel prepared". does anyone relate to any of that? 😮💨
So from what I’ve learned, avoidance can be a type of compulsion but I feel it all depends on why you are avoiding something. Personal example, I would want to avoid this monthly social gathering of one of my friend groups, because I was scared that while around them I would say or do something embarrassing or offensive in front of those people and it would cause them to hate me. But avoiding something you do not like, example I dislike folding laundry so I put it off until I feel I need to is a different kind of avoidance. So I feel determining if it’s a compulsion or not depends on the root of why you are avoiding something. Hope I was able to make sense.
thank you!! i'm beginning to figure out what is really going on, and after trying to do these tasks i kept focusing on "but that's not the time to do that", "i need to do this at the same order tomorrow, otherwise it'll be wrong", "if i do the next task i will mess with my whole routine (which doesn't even exist)" and man i feel kinda relieved to recognize that but at the same time i'm feeling trapped
Yes, it’s called avoidance and it’s a compulsion. You NEED to feel uncomfortable and to sit with it and accept it in order to get better. And also doing the opposite OCD wants you to do.
I’m not sure if it’s a compulsion but I avoid certain tasks to that i know will cause anxiety from my OCD. Ik avoiding OCD thoughts and actions can feed your OCD, because you’re basically responding in fear. OCD latches onto fear and feeling uncertain. If you respond to something in fear, next time you encounter that thing or thought, your brain is going to respond in fear as a way to protect you.
@Maddie463 Overall, I’m not entirely sure if avoidance is a compulsion, but I believe it could be! I am not therapist though so I’m unsure!
i avoid because of "unpreparedness" to do these things, even if they are the most simple task (like skincare) i feel like that's the most hard thing ever🧍my brain keeps telling me these things are not in the right time to do, but i didn't even scheduled them, so i'm feeling a bit weird about recognizing my behavior lol
@thisthischicanery Does that unpreparedness make you feel uncomfortable?
@Maddie463 yes!! i start to overthink about the task and how i should do it instead of... doing it... years ago i thought it was just some kind of procrastination, but i keep focusing on the unfinished task all day, and i don't feel in peace if i don't do them, or if i've done everything except one single task, i feel like i wasted my day!!! crazy right??
@thisthischicanery Definitely not crazy! I actually feel like a struggle with this in a sense of scrupulosity. If I don’t do a certain small task, I’ll end up feeling an immense amount of guilt. I’ll then end up feeling like I sinned, I’m not a good follower of Christ, and I’m going to Hell. The tasks can be as simple as picking up a piece of trash on the ground and throwing it away. It’ll continue to bother you till you do it!
@Maddie463 so it is really all OCD!! 😫😫 that is definitively something i need to expose myself to learn more, i thought my adhd was beating myself but it is really just my ocd messing with me
@thisthischicanery OCD cultivates itself in so many ways it’s insane. I’ve had OCD for almost a decade. To me it seems like OCD can latch onto about anything. Once you learn a little how OCD works, it helps with recovery
@Maddie463 I think of OCD as something that plays mind games. I did have a therapist tell me once to try and thank my brain for protecting me. Are brain is just trying to protect us from the fears we keep responding to.
I don't know if it's a compulsion, but it's antithetical to ERP therapy, which is a tool to expose us to our fears.
regardless of whether it's a compulsion or not, i think i've been too focused on labeling it rather than actually moving forward, i'm going to try doing these tasks from now on😅
@thisthischicanery Good for you!
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