Trigger warning? I don’t know what to do. I like this app, I like how I can express myself, seek and offer help. But it’s becoming a compulsion to read everyone’s post and afraid I’ll miss something important, something I can relate to or help with. Should I stop? I can’t check as often as I used to and I was okay in the beginning.

Don’t stop using the app but try to perhaps turn the Compulsion into something else such as replying to the ones you read And only reading 5 a day.

Thank you. I’m also concerned because as I read others, I notice that I do the same thing. It reminds me on what I need to work on because they’re not as severe as my checking and contamination fears so it doesn’t occur to me that they are problems. For example, I knew I always reread things. But I had to be reminded by another person’s post about it. Do you have those feelings when you read others? It really sucks because there are so many themes. :(

I can definitely understand, sometimes I get the same way with things where Ill be enjoying it until OCD gets its claws into it and ruins my fun. I would try to set boundaries? Like I’m only going to read the first few posts that come up

Right?? I already have my compulsion to write all my dreams for my dream journal that I started out of fun. I thought about reading first few posts too but then I start to feel guilty. I don’t know when to stop. It’s like one more, only one more. But here’s another thing, I scroll down to where I last commented and work my way up to the most recent. So if someone posts something new, do I read that too? I’m like overthinking and stressing over something that’s so silly. You know the “all or nothing” it’s “black and white”. I feel that if I don’t read and try to respond then I shouldn’t read at all. Like I should’ve never started. Sigh.

I completely understand! This is OCD at its finest, trying to take something that is suppose to be enjoyable and turning it into an anxiety causing event. I have such trouble with the grey areas too, I hate having doubt and want everything to be black or white as well. That’s when things become ritualized for me, when I try to remove doubt and make things black or white. I have to sometimes physical and/or mentally remove myself from situations like that or it can down spiral. I hope you can find something that works for you!