I’m not too sure if this is related to my OCD but figured I would talk about it?? This is gonna sound so narcissistic maybe, but I have been having a lot of trouble with Zoom and seeing myself in the camera lately :( I can’t stop obsessing over if people think I looked okay, especially just this one time where I logged on pretty fast, wasn’t wearing makeup and had no time to really adjust myself... It’s really impacting all my courses because now I’m just distracted at the past and present. I really don’t know why I posted this. I just feel so hopeless and stuck in my own head even though I know it’s such a dumb problem to have :( I guess what I want to ask is how do you personally deal with repetitive thoughts that are hard to escape? I hope you all have a great night (or day)

First off, wonderful username! If you’re a double reed player, you automatically get extra points in life. 💜 Secondly, lots of people have trouble looking at themselves or trying not to look at themselves on Zoom. Before Covid, I tried helping people adjust to a new open-plan office setting. They kept thinking people were looking at them, and they’d get distracted. I had them try what we have to do in art classes. Sit as a model and then switch and draw the other person. As the model, you know the other person is looking at you, but as the person drawing, you realize, even staring at the model, you are still almost looking through them. Seeing yourself on Zoom is a little different, and I’m sure it circles back to something in our primate brains about recognizing ourselves in mirrors... but this exercise may help you realize how little everyone else is looking at you during class. And maybe that will at least help you not be as concerned if you don’t have time to do makeup and hair. Good luck!

This sounds like OCD. I used to be obsessed with a certain model. I wanted to be as beautiful as her and I’d check her pictures every day. To this day, I still think she’s a lot more beautiful than me, but I don’t obsess over her anymore. I only see her once in a blue moon. Point of this is, so what if you didn’t look your best on Zoom? You can not look your best one day and still be okay! To answer ur question though it’s not always easy to escape repetitive thoughts. But acceptance on if you don’t look okay is a start Lmk if I missed your point but I hope this helps

That doesn’t sound narcissistic at all. I personally have body dismorphic disorder (which I’m not saying you have obviously becuase I don’t know you) and most people would think I’m vain for constantly obsessing about my appearance. I’ve heard a lot of people struggle with worrying how they look on zoom. So you’re not alone. Go easy on yourself. How I try to deal with repeltative thoughts is turn them to something else while sitting with the anxiety. If I’m stressed or ruminating I go and draw. I know this sounds like distraction, but turning the anxious energy to something important to you, like for me art, can be helpful in the moment. Also the calm app. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/calm/id571800810