Anonymous
- Date posted
- Yesterday
Feared outcomes
Does anyone have a list or examples of “feared outcomes” for just right or perfectionism type obsessions?
HobbitHobbit
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- Yesterday
Yes to everything j vv said. I also have “if this isn’t done or made perfect, it’ll really bug me in the future and that irritation or inconvenience will build until it isn’t tolerable”, “If I make a big purchase (ex furniture) and it isn’t perfectly right, I’ll have to live with this imperfect thing forever and it’ll be so shameful because I could have prevented it by just doing more research”, “If I don’t perfectly optimize my time, I’m wasting time and am useless/worthless”, “if I let this mistake go / let this be imperfect, it’ll snowball into a complete mess that’ll be harder to correct later” as well as lots of harm or contamination fears if things aren’t done perfectly.
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 20h
@Hobbit oh thank you! im trying to get a better understanding of my feared outcomes when im not necessarily fearful of anything- just trying to make it feel right or get rid of the uncomfy feeling.
HobbitHobbit
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 20h
@Anonymous Makes sense! So maybe for you, you’re trying to prevent the uncomfy feeling from being there? (ie feared outcome is the uncomfy feeling continuing to be there or never going away?)
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 16h
@Hobbit i guess so lol 😭😭
HobbitHobbit
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 15h
@Anonymous I get it — I do lots of things (ie compulsions) to avoid discomfort and anxiety (which often feels like a tight knot in my solar plexus). ❤️🩹🙂
j vvj vv
- Date posted
- Yesterday
“If I don’t do this perfect, I’ll lose my job” “If I don’t check again, I will have missed a crucial detail that will undo my progress…wasting time” “If it isn’t working perfectly, it won’t work” A lot of my perfectionism OCD revolves around catastrophe occurring, or major time being lost, etc. — all trying to prevent a loss of some kind (relationship, time, economic, etc.). It’s a misaligned attempt to control outcomes after being in an environment that was unforgiving, exacting, and inconsistent…where praise was virtually non-existent.
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 20h
@j vv for me, it’s more about an uncomfortable sensation in my chest that i’m trying to get rid of. i’m not fearful of anything catastrophic- the one where you said if it’s not working perfectly it won’t work. that’s the closest to what i feel. im trying to get a better understanding of my feared outcomes when im not necessarily fearful of anything .
j vvj vv
- Date posted
- 10h
@Anonymous It is hard to categorize some OCD themes for me as well. For my symmetry OCD, some things just feel “off” and are bothersome—an object on a desk tilted at the “wrong” angle , etc. Some of it can be mapped to a danger of some kind (straightening a glass that is sitting close to the edge of the desk to avoid it getting knocked on the floor), but sometimes OCD is also nonsensical. “Something feels out of place in life..straighten that object, that will fix it”.
AnonymousAnonymous
- Date posted
- 14h
Perfectionism is something I really struggle with. I’ve spend hours researching a product to buy because I don’t want to buy a terrible version or have to rebuy it later because I went the cheap route. It makes me super uncomfortable and makes my skin feel itchy and like I need to run away. I won’t even try things due to this feeling and the fear of failure. I guess my biggest feared outcome is that everyone will know I’m a failure.
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