People who have experienced ROCD- I had a rough day yesterday with my boyfriend due to acting on some compulsions. My compulsion is to seek reassurance. It was just not a good night because he was getting impatient, I was getting sensitive.. just not good. Anyway, we’re good now, but I just feel uneasy. My OCD always continues because after I complete a compulsion, I feel guilty and then I get more irrational thoughts that my boyfriend will leave me... thus I seek more reassurance. How do I get out of this insecure space in my head WITHOUT seeking reassurance again? Does this last a long time?

It can last a long time, I experience this with my girlfriend more often than I care to admit. Communication helps a lot, letting your boyfriend know that you’re not asking for reassurance to be annoying, but because your OCD makes you worry for the health of your relationship. If he knows this than he should be more patient with you, he has to understand that you’re not trying to be overly sensitive. At the same time, try to resist the compulsion to ask for reassurance, because then you’re just reinforcing that compulsion. I hope this helps!

KyNeum- thank you! This does help. We will get through this :)

I have ROCD. I try to remind myself I have nothing to worry about and this is my ocd. It’s very hard because my brain tells me maybe it’s not. But it’s important to try to label it as what it is and then deal with the uneasyness. I look for reassurance too. I’m trying what was suggested and dealing with that uncertainty. As hard as that is, I think it’s for the best.

Try to do an exposure instead of a compulsion, when you can. Doing compulsions will only feed your OCD and makes you feel better for a second before triggering you again. Recognizing it is just your OCD (not real threats to your relationship), and that means you need to face the obsession and expose yourself to it (instead of reassuring/checking), it will actually make you feel better longer term. Much easier said than done, but i promise it helps! Hang in there you’re doing great :)