As a lifelong OCD haver, I find it helpful to think back on old obsessions and compulsions that don’t bother me anymore. It puts current ones into perspective a bit.
So in light of that, what is the most bizarre past obsession/compulsion (so one that is currently not affecting you) that you ever had?
I’ll go first. Mine’s pretty embarrassing.
When I was around 21 (12 or so years ago) one time while I was taking a shower I had a super intense groin all response out of nowhere. At the time I was really struggling as it was with religious scrupulosity. So in my OCD mind, I felt that I needed to do EVERYTHING IN MY POWER to not be sexually aroused, and that now involved getting naked in order to take a shower.
So for a period of around two months, showering basically meant splashing my upper body and legs with soap and water. And then instead of actually properly cleaning my genital area I would use basically a wet wipe without removing my underwear.
Guys, I reeked. I was not cleaning myself properly for over 2 months. I didn’t know I had OCD at the time so it wasn’t as easy as trying some ERP.
Finally I realized that this just couldn’t work, and that I was driving myself crazy. After thinking really hard about whether I should or not, I approached my dad about it, whom I trusted. And without knowing it, he basically told me to do ERP.
“You need to get clean, you can’t keep doing that.”
“But what if I feel something sexual.”
“I really don’t care what you feel, go right now and take a proper shower.”
Bless my dad for that dose of sanity when I needed it.