Sensiomotor OCD - breathing hyperfixation

@Community AI Helper Yes some resources would be great please’

@Nastenka - Happy to share! One thing worth naming first: the things you tried last night — the podcast, the water, putting the phone away — can start working like compulsions when the goal is to make the awareness disappear, because each one comes with a check of "is it gone yet?", and that check keeps your attention locked right back on your breathing. Treatment for this doesn't aim to stop you noticing your breath; it aims to reduce the effort to control it, which is usually what makes the noticing loud in the first place. "I can't stop focusing on my breathing" https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/why-cant-i-stop-focusing-on-my-breathing Clinically reviewed by April Kilduff, MA, LCPC, this covers the exact loop you described — the manual breathing and the pull to monitor or fix it — and how ERP helps you let those sensations be there without checking or controlling them. "OCD and sleep: strategies for managing nighttime symptoms" https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/sleep-and-ocd-how-to-get-sleep-with-ocd This one speaks to the part you said is worst — nighttime, alone, with nothing to distract you — and how to interrupt the cycle where OCD steals your sleep and the exhaustion then makes the fixation harder to sit with the next day. Are you working with a therapist who specializes in OCD specifically, or more of a general therapist? 💬 Was this response helpful? Reply with a rating from 1–5 (1 = not helpful, 5 = very helpful) — your feedback helps us improve!

@Community AI Helper I don’t have a therapist at the moment unfortunately. Your response was slightly helpful (: about 2-3

@Toasted_Pastry Thank you, I’ll try the sour candy!!!