- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
(This is all my personal opinion!) One of my compulsions is obsessive research. I'm doing a project for school right now based on OCD, the stigmatization, and personal stories. I had to do a lot of research for this, and honestly I feel like it's been helping me understand it a lot more. I can recognize my own symptoms and triggers better! I can also recognize these symptoms in others. But there's a line between curiosity and compulsion. Curiosity is "What is this?" And compulsion is "What if I have this? Do I have it? Do I know people who have this?". So ask general questions and not "what ifs" or "I" questions!
- Date posted
- 3y
It depends on what your questions are, your motivations for asking, and the kind of answers you’re seeking. I love @archer’s answer! I’d add that information can be important and questions aren’t necessarily asking for reassurance; obviously they can be- this very question could be either - and it’s important to be honest with ourselves.
- Date posted
- 3y
Polaris-It depends on WHY you are posting. If it to share an experience or learn about OCD, its probably okay. But if you are doing it for reassurance or to relieve your anxiety, then its a compulsion. A compulsion is anything you say, think, or do in an attempt to relieve your anxiety.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 21w
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.
- Date posted
- 21w
New to this app. Do members find it helps, I'm worried I will start obsessing over things I hadn't thought about before when I read other people's OCD triggers...
- Date posted
- 19w
When I was a child, before I knew this was OCD, I struggled with constant "magical thinking" compulsions (don't step on the crack or mom's back will actually break, etc). When I later learned this was OCD, it almost immediately solved it. Any time I got a magical thought, I would say to myself "that's just an OCD thought. ignore it." and it just stopped coming! Like seriously it fixed the magical thinking stuff forever. But of course the OCD has resurfaced in other ways. So naturally, I've tried to use the same strategy since I had so much success with it previously. But I wonder sometimes if telling myself "that's just OCD" is almost functioning as a reassurance compulsion? I hate how meta this gets. For example, I have ROCD that comes and goes. So sometimes I'll get a thought like "what if i'm still in love with my ex?" and then I'll tell myself "that's obviously just an ROCD thought" and will feel relief, almost like reassurance. But it comes back. So is telling myself that it's OCD a reassurance compulsion ?? It's just so weird because it worked so perfectly as a kid with the magical thinking thing.
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond