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
Related posts
Bobbbbby
- Date posted
- 23w
Acid Reflux
Hello, I just wanna put my thoughts onto something to hopefully release them. I have health ocd/anxiety which comes with googling and overthinking. Lately, I’ve been have stomach issues and acid reflux on new SSRI medication and convince myself I have SIBO or a weird disease. I then I looked into gastric diseases then freak myself out more for days on end. I’m am trying to use the ERP and saying “Mabye I do mabye I don’t”; but I always end up doing stuff to make it worse. If I have any advice don’t google, I should take my own advice😂. I have a few appointments to make sure nothings wrong which I know logically nothings wrong but for some reason I still think something is really wrong. (If you have similar stuff DONT look it up, it’ll just say the worst thing, ignorance is bliss 😭😂) Not expecting a response, just wanted to “release” my thoughts. Hopefully I help someone who is going the same thing. Anyways hope everyone is doing good and making progress in their life. :)
moon0270
- Date posted
- 21w
Google
At the beginning of this year, I experienced false memories for the first time about watching bad stuff online, which I have never done in my life. I then turned to hours upon hours of googling and researching about it and reading articles about it. I'd sometimes google the same articles or topics multiple times a day. I then also remembered that I watched a clip once from Big Mouth (not knowing they were teens at the time). I became so afraid that I was being watched by the authorities or my ISP simply for doing research that I impulsively deleted my Google activity and became extremely paranoid that I was a bad person and a criminal, even though I'd never ever had these types of thoughts before. Then felt bad afterwards because I was like omg what if i am bad because what if it seems like I'm trying to hide a crime. I just really hate myself rn. I know we shouldn't ask for reassurance, but I'm more just pondering this, does this make me a bad person? Is there anyone else who has experienced something similar? Does this mean I still have OCD? or am I truly just only worried about how other people see me? Even while typing this, I'm asking myself, what does this all mean.
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bsbsbdnsnsn
- Date posted
- 16w
using chat gpt
i really struggle with anxiety because on my OCD (not professionally diagnosed but i’ve been experiencing a lot of symptoms for many years that’s it’s safe to assume i have it). the only way to relieve my stress is to google. But google never gave me proper answers or i just ended up more anxious than to begin with. Instead i started using chat gpt as a quick was to get reassurance. i feel bad using it tho because i know it’s just a compulsion to go and seek reassurance to calm my anxiety but if i dont atleast google something i end up spiralling anyways. it feels like no matter what i do ill be anxious .
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