Guys I’m kind of at my wits end with this obsessive compulsive thing... every time i look at my housemates I get intrusive thoughts about staring at their chest or crotch area. What sucks is I’ve had this in the past and my eyes involuntarily do it the more I think about not doing it. The thoughts are endangering me themselves. Is this reassurance seeking? Does anyone else have this and how the heck do you deal with it?

jello86

283d ago

I don’t think that trying to relate to others and look for coping tips is reassurance-seeking. I’m sorry you’re going through this :(

cozycat

283d ago

The more you try to not do something the more you are going to want to do it. I have read that the important thing to do here is to not try to prevent anything from happening. Thoughts urges feelings. This doesn’t mean act on them but trying to prevent them makes it a much more important thing to your mind. You’re sending a danger signal

cheyras

283d ago

The best way to deal with it is to accept and feel uncertainty. “Maybe I’ll stare at this person’s crotch, maybe I won’t. Maybe that makes me a weird person, maybe it doesn’t. Can’t know for sure.” And just experience the unpleasantness of thinking that. Doesn’t mean you go out of your way to not stare at people but it does mean that you don’t try overly hard to stop it either.