Hey y’all, I hope everything is okay with everyone. I’ve been struggling with thinking about a specific celebrity for a really long time now and it’s super intrusive. Like I’ll be doing something random like washing dishes and I’ll then be like “omg, ____ washes dishes too. I wonder what it would be like to wash dishes with them or when they last did.” Like an absolute obsession. I’ll be amazed and enthralled with the most minute of things that I imagine them doing- they are like god-like to me. I also compulsively look at pictures and videos of them to feed my thought addiction. It’s ruining my day-to-day existence. How do I stop thinking about them and their lives and focus on my own? It’s so difficult to live my own life when I’m so invested in theirs. I just wish they would stop running around in my head and I can have some peace.

Hi! Thank you for reaching out. I do enjoy the thoughts and the behaviors to an extent, but then when I think about it I realize that I’m not part of their life and these thoughts are just thoughts and not reality and then it leaves me feeling very depressed and empty. When the thoughts come up 24/7 it can be really distressing and interrupt my daily life because I keep thinking about them and keep trying to feed them with the behaviors.

@lifeofm I see. Thanks for clarifying. It sounds like you have an obsession with the celebrity in the typical meaning of "obsession"- you're a super fan. The clinical meaning of "obsession" is different. An OCD obsession about a celebrity would mean being scared if them. Here's an example to help you visualize the difference. Let me know if I understood you correctly that you're experiencing the first scenario. "I'm so obsessed with Justin beiber" in regular terms means someone is a super fan of his. They love him. They go to his concerts, collect items with his picture on it, visit fan websittes, follow him on social media, his songs are most played in their Spotify account, and they fantasize about interacting with him. Someone with OCD who has obsessions about Justin beiber would be terrified of him. If he shows up in a dream, they consider it a nightmare. The compulsions they do might include avoiding listening to the radio in case they hear a song if his, refusing to talk to anyone named "Justin", undoing actions or repeating them if they have a thought about Justin beiber, selecting haircuts that are as different from his as possible, staying off social media, not going through grocery aisles with magazines in case his photo shows up, etc. If it's the case that you're experiencing the first, that's ok. It may not fit the OCD cycle, but we can still support you in changing the pattern.

@NOCD Advocate - Katie Yes, I am definitely more of the first one. It’s just that even when it’s unwanted, thoughts come into my mind regarding the person and it creates an environment where my entire life is taken over. I just really wish I could be able to not be literally addicted to the thoughts about this person, etc.

@lifeofm Are the fantasies serving as an escape from unpleasant parts if reality? Or filling an unmet need in your life?

@NOCD Advocate - Katie The thing that I don’t really understand is that I feel like I oftentimes have everything I need and could want in my life so I feel like it’s not filling that, but the one thing I do struggle a lot with is body image and feeling not good about my appearance so I oftentimes use her to live vicariously through in that regard.

@lifeofm Makes sense

@NOCD Advocate - Katie Thank you!