How can I stop checking things? I’ve been up all night making sure I haven’t accidentally sent any messages or posted any pictures to social media sites and I’m still getting thoughts that I have or what if I have and it’s really hard to not check. Any tips on how to stop this cycle?

Write down a worst case scenario or two of the feared consequence from not checking. Then, take the leap of faith of not checking tonight when you feel the urge. Do that tonight before going to bed. Remind yourself that this is not how you want to live your life when the anxiety rises. After 12 hours, compare the actual outcome to the feared ones that you have written on your list. The OCD bully wants complete certainty. But, certainty does not exist (except our eventual death) in our life. You have to punch back at the bully by accepting the reality that there is no way of knowing what will happen regarding anything that we do in life. It's all unknowable. The are many areas in your life that you already are doing this maybe without even realizing it.

1. Identify thoughts that are intrusive. That is the OCD. Give the OCD a voice so you know when it’s talking to you vs. your mind talking to you. Remember OCD is a liar. 2. Let the thoughts pass as a cloud above would pass. Don’t stare at the cloud, just let it float by. 3. Anxiety, doubt and fear all all emotions created by the OCD. Emotions are not that important. What is important is how you react to them. Do not create a catastrophe. 4. Embrace uncertainty. OCD is a disease of doubt. If you embrace uncertainty rather than reassurance, your OCD will lose power over you. 5. Meds. and CBT. I’ve tried a number of SSRIs over the years and have yet to see them make any difference CBT (usually rolled into talk therapy) has taught me emotional management which is essentially like a superpower in life. 6. ERP is effective. I’m finishing up the program and my latest assessment says I’ve seen an improvement of 66%. The freedom is astonishing. I saw drastic results in just two weeks. 7. Practice ERP techniques, especially exposure. 8. Make a list of your obsessions and create a pyramid with you most stressful obsessions on top. Work from the bottom, one obsession at a time. 9. Trigger your obsession (preferably in a controlled situation). Set timer for 20 mins. 10. Sit through the anxiety or even carry on with other things. 11. If you perform a physical or mental compulsion (mainly reassurance) reset the timer and start over. 12. If in 20 mins you are still anxious, keep going. 13. Do this hours per day, everyday. It is a new part of your routine like the gym. Work hard and tolerate the pain. 14. Trip. Get back up and do it again. 15. Repeat for all the obsessions you think need treatment. 16. Return to practice on obsessions you already conquered. They can comeback if you don’t practice. Good luck!