JON2147512
- Date posted
- 4y
hyperactivebrainhyperactiveb...
- Date posted
- 4y
Your right, googling used to be my number 1 compulsion. I was consumed by my desperate need for reassurance and I couldn't stop doing it even though I knew that this was pointless. Sometimes I would find something that gave me relief or even made me feel good for a few days, but the doubts came back and forced me to look for more, to check everything on the internet to make sure I would be ok. It was terrible, I didn't understand what was happening, why I suddenly needed this so bad. It made everything worse. I am so glad that I almost never do this anymore now. It improved my life tremendously. Also, blocking sites like reddit or quora from my devices also was a blessing.
JON2147512JON2147512
- Date posted
- 4y
Ugh, Reddit is the worst. Talk about giving your OCD ideas lol. And the worst is when you’ve googled so much that you’ve already seen everything and the reassurance doesn’t do anything anymore. I’m glad you were able to cut it out. I’m still working on it, but it’s definitely not as bad as it used to be. I lived on google when it first started.
hyperactivebrainhyperactiveb...
- Date posted
- 4y
@JON2147512 Yeah, reddit is even worse than google, when I was having a rough time with SO-OCD, you can image how much triggering stuff I found there that made me feel like everything will fall apart. At least I read about the NOCD App in reddit for the first time, but that was about the only good thing that came of it. It is hard to entirely resist googling if you're triggered by something and the urge is really strong. Be kind to yourself if it does not always work and just try to stop or delay ("If the urge is still as strong in two days, them I will go on Google" - you probably will have forgotten what even felt so urgent) as soon as you notice what you are doing.
JON2147512JON2147512
- Date posted
- 4y
@Shoeshifter Exactly. You realize that you are looking for a certainty that can’t be found on google. If anything google will make you more uncertain about everything, even things your common sense knows is true.
ColinColin
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y
I keep the image of a Google results page filled with purple links (meaning I’ve clicked every one of them, probably several times each) in my head, so when I’m tempted to Google a symptom, I can remind myself “there’s no info you’re going to find that you don’t already have - sit with the fear, it will pass.”
hyperactivebrainhyperactiveb...
- Date posted
- 4y
Uuugh, I remember the purple links, been there, too! It is hard to resist if the urge is so strong but it is the only way out
Evelyn4416Evelyn4416
- Date posted
- 4y
Yup! Keeps you trapped in the cycle.
JON2147512JON2147512
- Date posted
- 4y
I swear if I never googled I would have had maybe 3 or 4 OCD themes tops. Because of google I’ve cycled through about 20
hyperactivebrainhyperactiveb...
- Date posted
- 4y
Also I decided to stay away from social media during my PMS, because I know I am more vulnerable to triggers during this time of the month, so if you know you are heading towards a stressful time period of any kind where it is likely your ocd is going to be more active, it might be a good thing to try to minimize the risk to get sucked back into the cycle by staying away from what you know can make it worse. of course you cannot and should not prevent or avoid every triggering situation, I am just talking about social media because this can turn from a trigger to a compulsion in almost a second and suck you back into obsessing.
Fighter1Fighter1
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y
I know I need to stop
JON2147512JON2147512
- Date posted
- 4y
Maybe every time you google draw a tick mark on a piece of paper. I might start doing the same.
hyperactivebrainhyperactiveb...
- Date posted
- 4y
@JON2147512 Tracking the time you spend googling and ruminating might also help? And trying to slowly reduce this time day by day until you come down to zero
JON2147512JON2147512
- Date posted
- 4y
@Shoeshifter Yes, tracking the time helps me tremendously as long as I maintain discipline and actually do it.
hyperactivebrainhyperactiveb...
- Date posted
- 4y
@JON2147512 Yeah, I also struggle with keeping up the discipline, especially when I am doing good and only ruminate for a few minutes a day or so, I don't track it because it also helps me to shift my focus away from OCD and to real life but it would surely be good to keep it up even if I don't ruminate a lot..
JON2147512JON2147512
- Date posted
- 4y
@Shoeshifter Yeah I do the same. One thing I did was set reminders on my phone every 3 hours. That way I could forget about OCD and still remember to track. Or you could get someone to remind you and hold you accountable
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- Date posted
- 24w
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Kammy
- Date posted
- 22w
This is draining
I started dealing with OCD when I became fixated on health issues, particularly the fear of contracting a life-threatening disease. If I experienced any kind of medical symptom, no matter how small, that even remotely hinted at something potentially fatal, it would drive me crazy, and I couldn’t stop obsessing over it. Then one day, I started having intrusive thoughts about accidentally hitting someone with my car, and I would end up driving in circles to check if I had. Eventually, I found myself overwhelmed by a flood of new obsessive thoughts and compulsions. One day, while I was at the park, a squirrel came near me, and for some reason, I felt like it attacked me. I Googled it and learned that squirrels could carry rabies, which spiraled me into a deep fear of rabies. I became consumed with the thought I received a bite from a squirrel, raccoon, or bat any time I’m in areas that trigger me. It started off only being inside then transferred to even being in my own home. This made me obsess over every physical sensation in my body, compulsively checking to make sure nothing was wrong. One compulsion that I hated the most would to be putting rubbing alcohol on me to make sure that I had no open wounds. Every day feels like I’m walking around in a fog of anxiety, constantly worrying that I won’t even make it to old age. Sometimes, it gets so overwhelming that I just want it all to end. It stresses me so bad at times to where my brain feels like I’ve been studying all day.
sierra6
- Date posted
- 22w
Why no reassurance?
Hello! I just got diagnosed with OCD a week ago and joined the app today to find a sense of community. Since my understanding of treatment is minimal at this point, I'm confused why everything on here tells us not to seek or give reassurance? If someone could explain the reasoning behind that it would be greatly appreciated, as I want to make sure I'm not only watching out for it in my personal life but also using this app appropriately.
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