Does anyone else struggle more with OCD when the fear is technically possible?

I just saw a TikTok that basically said “having OCD when the news is talking about AI destroying humanity, food recalls, surveillance, gun violence, etc.” and it hit on something I’ve been thinking about a lot. I feel like one of the hardest parts of OCD for me is that the world genuinely does have risks. Food does get recalled. Bad things do happen. Technology does raise privacy concerns. There are things in life that we can’t guarantee will be okay. And my OCD LOVES that tiny opening. Because then it becomes, “See? This isn’t irrational. You SHOULD be worried.” And suddenly I’m trying to figure out where normal awareness ends and OCD begins. I’m realizing more and more that recovery can’t be about proving that every fear I have is unrealistic, because sometimes the thing I’m afraid of genuinely could happen. It’s learning that I still don’t get to have 100% certainty about it. I can be aware that risks exist without spending my life trying to eliminate every single one of them. Which is much easier to type than it is to actually practice lol. Curious if anyone else struggles more with OCD when there’s a little bit of real-world truth for it to latch onto?

Felis_The_Cat

Date posted: 19h

Ah, Yes! The technically it can happen loophole. I struggle with this too, as my concern is contamination, which is unlikely but never truly zero. So my OCD likes to use it as a reason to kinda linger and “protect” me. I 100% understand it, and I think that it’s one type of OCD where we’re going to have to always be dealing with some level of anxiety or uncertainty.

AkaAllis21

Date posted: 19h

You’ve described exactly what I experience as well! I tend to latch onto something that’s possible, even if it’s not probable. My brain is complete 50/50, not “there’s a 10% chance it will rain today” but “it’s either going to rain or it’s not so it’s a 50% chance” I’m sorry you’re experiencing this as well, it can make trying to heal and move on so difficult

MaybeMaybeNot39

Date posted: 19h

OCD thrives on safety so what I’m reading is that the core unconscious belief is that you are not safe. Dive into that more. Where did it come from? When did that start? We as humans crave safety. It’s our brains purpose. So when your brain does this say “thanks for trying to keep me safe brain but I’m ok” and continue doing what you were doing instead of thinking about the thought. I hope this helps ♥️🙏🏻

Mercury75

Date posted: 18h

Yes 1000%. It becomes really hard to untangle OCD from reasonable precaution. Situations like these are where my OCD still trips me up the most.

Mercury75

Date posted: 18h

@Mercury75 Oh not to mention the fact that imo some non-OCD people do not take certain threatening situations seriously enough. This just confuses me more.

Marty.mae

Date posted: 16h

I have been feeling this a lot lately. That’s actually why I got this app. I struggled a lot with contamination OCD growing up, specifically food borne illness and highly contagious illnesses. I’ve been managing my OCD really well the last several years (besides COVID but it got better) and the constant new recalls and stuff about AI killing us all is really getting to me. I feel like the same strategies aren’t as effective when there is evidence that the fear is realistic, even if uncommon. I’m really struggling to manage the spirals and compulsions right now. I would love some practical advice from others who have found stuff that works! That being said, I’m here for the solidarity 🫶🏼

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