I check if I flushed the toilet and I have certain toilet actions that I need to do 3 times.😂😂😂 And I check them too and after that I can come out. Then time goes and I am wondering again if everything is clean there and I go and check again... sorry😂😂😂
my teeth... If there's a mirror near me I get the habit of checking if my teeth have developed new cavities in them or if my existing fillings have fallen out. sometimes I stand there for 30 minutes checking and rechecking...it sucks :(
making sure my keys are in my pocket, even though i have them chained to my belt loop and DEFINITELY don't have holes in my pockets. i definitely checked for those too! i overcame that one in particular by allowing myself 1 check, and burn into my brain that YES my keys are in my pocket, and that's the 1 check i get cos locksmiths are expensive lol, but i try to restrict myself to 1 or 2 checks
I mentally review/check my past over and over. I scan for feelings, memories, conversations. I mull over details. I even worry that new details could surface, blocked memories, horrible remembrances that maybe I’ve blocked. Then I almost create scenarios where I think “did I actually do this”. It’s a loop that is so time consuming to be stuck in. And I’m working on not engaging with the need for certainty. But it’s hard. Sometimes I’m really successful in using my statements/tools. Other times I’m failing miserably and I give in to the need to know, to solve, to CHECK mentality.
This is my life. I feel guilt for things that I don’t even remember happening and I know I didn’t do, but the “what if” keeps hitting me since there is no way for me to 100% assure myself.
Its mind exhausting when you see a piece of paper on the floor or something you threw away and you must go and check before its gone forever. 😮💨 tuff scenarios
OCD and Anxiety….. this video is me. Other than contamination fear, this is a daily occurrence. I check multiple times for doors, windows, boiler etc. Thank you so much for making some sense of all this. I’ve felt so lost for years trying to find ways around all this.
You really saved me. I solved a 20 years old recurring thought because of your videos. I cannot tell you how much pain i was in and how happy i am to have been helped by you
Thank you so much for your videos. It feels so good to listen to someone that is a real specialist for OCD. I almost started to cry just because I feel so understand. Not only because of this video but for so many of yours. Thank you so much for your work!
Anyone with this issue knows that trying to control the thoughts are way easier said than done. But I certainly understand the logic of exposing yourself to the compulsion in an attempt get over the fear.
Being a young machinist (I machine parts for big electric motors on a manual lathe) I’m obsessed with the possibility that my inexperience or negligence on the job may cause fatal accidents if a part fails. I multiple chek tolerances and measures and I get yelled at for it. it’s really painful
This is a cool Video! I'll give it a shot. It has been a long and frustrating journey understanding myself and my OCD. I, clearly, have obsessive checking behaviors, but there is never really any reasoning or thought to it. Maybe it is because I've done it for so long that these rituals are just ingrained now. I don't know where it came from or when it started, but my habitual checking takes up a tremendous amount of my time. I check the door, windows, fridge, stove, faucet, and every single app on my phone to be sure I haven't missed anything. But you are right, what if I did miss something? - Probably not much would happen, and I'd just deal with it and solve the problem when it arises. My OCD isn't life-threatening or debilitating, but it is quite annoying for me, my friends, and my family. Moreover, I tend to enjoy how my things and my home are neat, clean, and in order. People are usually surprised and impressed with my organization, but they don't see all the rituals and effort that go on behind the scene. I just want to relax for once in my life and let my hair down. OCD is a constant in my life; It’s always there nagging me. I’m tired of wandering around my house at 2am pushing on the fridge door like a crazy person. I wish I could turn it off sometimes like a light switch.
Thanks sooo much for posting this video nate! I can relate so much to the checking of a lot of those things. Really appreciate you sharing your strategies how to reduce these compulsions
Mine is my cat , every time I leave for work I walk out my door and I have to turn around and check and see if she’s still in her spot or I’ll be extremely worried about her all day
Resisting is so difficult and uncomfortable. It’s so scary! Catastrophe sounds exaggerated, but 😂 that’s definitely how it feels. Yes, I’m trying to prevent catastrophes. I suppose I’m obsessed with finding all the such scenarios that could possibly come up. It really does occupy my mind all day at times and other times surprisingly, I forget. Sometimes I just don’t want to resist. I enjoy the rituals no matter how ridiculous or how sure I am that it’s unnecessary. Other times, it’s so exhausting thinking this way. It’s only recently I’m realizing I may have this. This anxiety and ocd checking combination. Here I thought I was just careful and thorough. What’s wrong with wanting perfection? Etc. My father had anxiety (undiagnosed) and it’s starting to seem I may have it too.
The worst is when Im leaving the house, in my car already blocks away, and I lose the fight and turn around to check that the doors are locked and the stove is off. Its so annoying. When Im leaving I have to slow down and say to myself “ive locked the door, remember this, ive locked the door”. But then its worse when something happens and my OCD is validated in my own mind. I have this thing since I was a kid where I have to check my shoes for bugs before I put them on. My husband obviously doesn’t do this and one day, he puts his shoe on and a poisonous caterpillar was in his shoe and he lost feeling in his toes, his big toe swelled up and got infected. In my head im like “aaaand thats why you check your shoes”. My most common OCD thoughts revolve around the house being picked up, especially the dogs toys. If I walk past his tennis ball on the floor “i know this ball is there…but if my husband isnt paying attention and doesnt see it he could trip and die, i better pick it up”. My husband is a firefighter and i HAVE to tell him every morning before he leaves to “be safe” or otherwise Im convinced something bad will happen. I hate these thoughts but to me they are life or death.
This is me - it's awful and even just watching this and imagining taking a risk by not checking causes huge anxiety. My checking OCD has attached it to many different things over the years - now it's attached to my work which makes life extremely difficult as I feel if I make a mistake, the result will be that I lose my job - which immediately spirals into losing my home and everything that comes with that. Rationally, I KNOW this isn't so, but the compulsion to check one last time is just so strong. I've tried exposure with things that aren't as important as my job, but it's just easier to give in to the compulsion that put myself through the hell of being uncertain.
I've thought of gaslighting and have heard of OCD itself as a gaslighter because it makes one question their own reality. Gaslighting typically is spoken of in terms of someone else doing it to a person. Any thoughts on this?
After years of family emotional abuse - being put down, having my feelings and needs diminished, gaslit, having trust broken by those who should've been taking care of me - yes. OCD is a gaslighting abuser that is disguised as someone who cares about me and is trying to protect me
Hey you! Yes you, the one reading this! Eyes and focus back up darling, listen to Nathan first before going through comments. They ain't going nowhere ☺️
I have this over a physical injury. And when I get a physical symptom, it makes me psychologically and physically check it again. It's so difficult. I know my worrying and checking is making it come true more. But I'm finding it hard to stop.
I constantly mentally check my past, the what ifs of my past. What if my intentions were "bad", what if I had this thought back then because I wanted it, and I'm not a good wife. I always check because I'm addicted to that false relief
Hi I really need to keep watching this video. I had a house fire a few years ago and because of this I check everything over and over it’s exhausting. Sometimes I don’t leave my house because it’s easier to not have to check all the time. I would love to be able to just check once and then leave but I can’t. I constantly check the cooker and plug sockets sometimes I just stare at them for ages until my brain says it’s ok. I’m finding it very difficult and now I have contamination and responsibility ocd which has all started because of the house fire. I really don’t know how to move on from all of this I would like to live a fairly normal life. Any advice would be grateful
I'm sorry for what you went through. Defiantly after a trauma it's easier to compulsive behaviors. I hope things get easier for you. I often tell people to live the life they want to live. If I don't want to check...I'm not going to check. 😉
@@ocdandanxiety hi thank for your response I will try to not worry about everything and check things less. I have to go out this morning so I'm going to challenge myself that I can only check a couple of times and then I have to leave. I hope this will be easy
Thank you. I'm going to do what you say. And to show you that I will take your advice seriously I will update everyone on here , weekly. I want to show others how I do. Hopefully it's not annoying if I do this. I just want to get better and show others it's possible.
I don’t have this symptom too bad but every once in a while it comes out of no where. It’s usually a “Where is that thing from last summer?” Even though I don’t need whatever that thing is in the present moment. I just HAVE to know where it is. Happened to me this morning. I was leaving for class and then could NOT remember where I had stored my flat iron a few months ago. I said to myself “you don’t need this right now- it’s not important.” But then I checked anyway and I found it within a few minutes. I knew I shouldn’t have checked for it but it’s like I NEEDED to find it right then. It’s a hard compulsion to kick to the curb.
Hi guys....I am the one who checks things like crazy person all the time.....here's few things that I check 1000 times before being convinced.....gas stove, switches, container caps in kitchen, all type of bottle/tube caps, bag zips, my turtle tank's top cover/lid, making sure my phone's screen is off (checking for 1-2 mins Continuously) before keeping the phone in pocket....checking multiple time after connecting phone to the charger (if it is charging for real or am I hallucinating 😂)....checking alarm atleast 10 times before going to bed....checking if the WIFI is turned off in my phone before sleeping (several times).....then before sleeping I gotta make sure that I kept my phone away from edge of the table (to avoid falling down from the table) checking that 10 times atleast....checking windows multiple times....closed door doesn't convince me that easily, I keep pulling on the door handle like an Idiot to make sure it's closed......day before yesterday I couldn't stop myself, before the door handle finally came off.....God bless me 🙂
Bro I have to do this entire bedtime ritual where I have to check my closets, under my bed, all the doors, stoves, locks etc. it’s so annoying and it makes going to bed so hard for me
I don't know if this is everybody's case, but I'm clumsy and have a bad memory, like I'm watching videos and suddenly realized that I left the faucet running. So there is a big possibility that I left the door opened or something dangerous plugged in so I need to check they're ok. The problem is when I turn around and ask myself if I really checked...
I have an OCD of checking things for a definite number. Earlier the number was 4×4 and now it is 6×6=36 times in total. And if I get confused or disturbed during this then I restart again with number 1. It's really frustrating for me . I check each and everything before going to work and after coming back home from work. Literally each and everything, I count them for 36 times in total before going to work and after coming back from work. And even at my work I'm afraid for everything I write and do and recheck them also again and again. And because of this I'm unable to do work at time and take so much extra time to do little work. My checking OCD started when I once left my home door open and came back after 2 days and got to know about it. Then I checked my each and every belonging, especially my important things. That whole night I kept checking things for a million times. That night was really horrible for me, I was reassuring myself again and again that I have everything and nothing is stolen or missing. And since that day I have started checking my lock and other important things again and again before leaving for work. And only go out for work nothing else. Because it haunts me to check everything before going and after coming. Even going to work is becoming hard task for me, it takes so much of my energy Literally about half an hour daily and sometimes more than that before leaving home. And after coming Back also the same. I want to go out Normally and live a normal life but I am unable to convince my brain for that. I am tired of this OCD in my life. I want a solution for it and cannot deal with it anymore . I want to live normal like I used to. PLEASE HELP
Hello Nathan. I want to ask one question. My brain analyzes everything. Every move i make, everything i say, everything i do. So for example if i do something that i've done normaly everyday ( before i had ocd ) my brain starts to ruminate and question WHY DID YOU DO THAT DID YOU WANTED TO HARM SOMEONE ETC. I would be happy if i can get an advice from you, please. Thanks in advance.
I check doors, drawers, cabinets, the stove, washer and dryer, and windows over and over again. I get up several times at night to keep checking, it’s so annoying because I can’t sleep if I don’t do it. I have to apply a lot of pressure with my hands when I check, and I have to repeat a phrase out loud while I do it. I have to do that over and over AND OVER until I feel satisfied.
I actually broke down one night in the shower. I was so distraught over my OCD episodes. It finally came to the climatic emotional breakdown. I know what i need to do, but the thoughts of disaster are so powerful. Even my seeing is believing comes into question. Am i really seeing this episodes. Its tough, and after years of habit, it's difficult to break the cycle. Especially when people are present.
Well I don't have the urge to check those things, like the stove, the water,... when I'm gone for a little while or for recreation. If I'm leaving to go to work all day, then I have to check over and over again. Isn't that weard?
Before having Sexual Orientation OCD had some Ocd signs like compulsions for no actual reason and checking stuff like locking the door, Flush the toilet, Respond to messages and things like this
I’ve never been diagnosed with OCD. I’m going to see a doctor tomorrow about it. I just had an episode two days ago where I thought I left my daughter in the car while I went to work. What’s bad if I can’t check my cell because I need delivery driver. I vividly remember, dropping her off at daycare and I called the daycare just to verify that everything was good. However, all day I was obsessing over it. I broke down multiple times bawling my eyes out. I didn’t get any relief until my wife got off of work and went and picked her up scared so bad. I thought I was going insane. this is not the first time, just the first time I could not chat. I also check to see if I shut the front door.
I am obsessed about blood pressure. There are times that I check it obsessively all day long. Especially during time of anxiety. I don’t know how to stop, since anxiety does raise blood pressure. So “ maybe maybe not “ not working since I know it’s up. How does someone deal with that?
Some get ONE doctors appointment and they follow their recommendations. If they say stop checking...you stop. If they say, check multiple times a day...you check multiple times a day. 😉
I left my barbecue running overnight once. Didn't cause any problems. If there was a fire, I've got smoke detectors, and there's a natural gas cutoff somewhere around here that the fire department and/or utility workers know how to find. I've left the door unlocked overnight several times, and nobody broke in. But guess what: if someone really wants in, they'll pick the lock, kick the door in, or smash a window. Locking the door provides a false sense of security. Recognizing that I think helped me realize that many of these other things I check really aren't to stave off dire consequences, they're to make me feel like nothing can go wrong because I took all possible preventative measures.
OCD is bad for sure.... but to what extent is checking the door before retiring to bed, checking to see if a mail ID drafted well before sending etc. OKAY?
I am obsessed of and addicted to checking I am also obsessed about if my dad would die, so when I get a message I have to check it immediately to see it's not news about my dad's death
Whenever I hit a bump while driving especially at night I automatically think I hit someone or something ….. I try my best to fight it and not turn around to go check but sometimes the ocd just takes over and I turn aeound and drive back ! It’s literally the hardest thing man because I automatically think I hit someone 😪 this video/community makes me feel like I’m not alone so I truly appreciate these videos.
A lot of ERP is about the response. How do you respond once the "exposure" part is done? (I like the "I don't care" attitude.) 😉 While not doing the compulsions as well.
For me I ask family over and over again and then closely listen to their tone of voice. If I feel like they're answering me sarcastically or with a question I get very stressed and upset and need to ask again and again until they answer me how I want. Is this ocd? I just cant stop asking until they answer me nicely even if 2 days have passed I wont let it go until I've asked and they've answered nicely. I won't be able to do anything else until I've got that relief. I tell myself this is the last time but it never ends and moves on to another thing
I have really bad ocd and suffer from this compulsion, and it creates a lot of anxiety for me, sometimes I have anxiety attacks due to the urge of continuously double checking
Now I'm in bed. Idk if I locked my office door even though.i always check at least 3 times. My fear is someone will steal our equipment then i will be fired. It's actually making me feel restless.
Hey I have had a huge problem checking Discord and Twitch, these are two programs that I normally didn't go to before a lot, but tried to get back on them recently and would comment under people twitch chats and apologize for spamming because it was my OCD. Same for discord I always would write a lot and feel if I don't check them then i'm avoiding something. It turns out that avoiding is also a compulsion. I always delete my accounts afterwards. I know constantly checking Discord or Twitch is a compulsion, but is avoiding Discord or Twitch also a compulsion or is that my brain telling me that to make me uncomfortable? I normally don't use either and actually dislike them and i'm worried that i'm giving myself a different compulsion by not going them aka avoiding them.
My partner has ocd checking & it has been getting worse, we/ I spent a whole year cleaning & packing our stuff ready to find some where to move, since all the tote tubs I bought are full, I started packing into large reuse bags, yet my partner keeps going through the bags & tubs & messing all my things up!!!! Please tell me how I can stop him doing this, I've reached my breaking point?
I have OCD guilty for people who live worse than me (Africans, Indians). I always think about them and feel guilty that i live very well. What should i do?
The first thing to do is to realise that there isn’t much you can do about it. It’s rough but you really can’t beat yourself over the fact that you were born far away. Secondly, please don’t let the adverts trigger your guilt. The adverts do this on purpose and if you look at the people who run these charities they always seem to be really rich and hire top tier celebrities to promote the cause yet those African children are still starving 🤔 Thirdly, I’m not too sure if it counts as a compulsion find local causes make food for the homeless and donate to food banks. But do it because you feel empowered out of your own heart NOT because you have to else you’re a bad person. You’re a good person already because you acknowledge that you’re privileged but you shouldn’t feel guilty about it, things just happen and it’s no one’s fault especially yours.
Mikail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, used to calm himself and his staff when they were anxious about what might or might not happen in the future by saying: "The future will tell us the truth."
I started taking SSRIs since last week because of this. Its just so hard to distinguish if its OCD or I just am right to check. I just don’t know if Taking just medicine is enough….
Slightly panicking cause I just got a leopard gecko and he is in my room. I'm in the living room. I am supposed to turn off the heat lamp at night, which I know I did for 100% positive, but I'm scared it will somehow still catch fire. And the thing u said about checking browser history is SO BAD for me. I'm trying so hard to just not check the lamp right now. I can do this :,)
Depends on the function of the checking. What's the reason for it? Those are questions you may ask. Is it to gain some type of certainty? If so, it may be a compulsion.
Hi! I had a doubt of hocd? Do bisexuals get hocd or soocd too? And is it true that during hocd, the person loses attraction to the opposite gender for god knows how long? I am 17, female and struggling with it, please help😭🙏🙏🙏
As a bisexual I’m always questioning whether or not I’m a real bisexual or just faking it to sound interesting since I’ve never been with anyone the same gender as me. It’s something that I think about now and then but I don’t think it actually bothers me as much as I just think “maybe I am, maybe I am not labelling the way I love people really doesn’t matter at the end of the day” Also about arousal, arosual can be caused by fear so it’s possible that “loosing attraction” thing is just being comfortable whilst being shit scared.
I work at a supermarket and when it's time to close the store and I should lock the doors I always check so many times after I have locked them if they really are locked. It's so exhausting and it's like my brain always makes me believe that I haven't locked them😩 I think about it a lot when I get home. It scares me to think that if the doors aren't locked, a robber will rob everything in the store and I might get fired. I don't know if I have OCD, cause I only check the doors at work and not everything else.
Not sure . I always do that with doors as well . I would check it’s locked 3x then walk away then run back home to make sure it’s locked . Even with my phone , I have it zipped up in a sling bag yet I still check like every 4 min to make sure it’s there . But I do like other ocd things such as “ hold your breath for 1 minute or the plane is going to crash “
Hi. Are phobias, paranoia and some hallucinations (rare, when almost asleep) and delusional thoughts included in ocd? If yes, then how can we understand if it's not schizophrenia or any other thing where I can lose control?
I don’t think they’re necessarily ocd. But they can play into or be exacerbated by ocd. Ocd likes to play into phobias so if you fear germs your OCD will tell you “make sure to wash ALL the germs off”. Paranoia is definitely caused by OCD I like to think that it uses what you’re already afraid of against you and makes your fear of it worse. And hallucinations are a very common symptom of sleep deprivation. So it’s very possible that by being anxious, you’re missing out a ton of sleep making you hallucinate when you’re tired. Like I said they’re not exactly just ocd but it’s deffo not schizophrenia. I think the only way really is to really help with it sit with the anxiety. I like to name everything in my room that is pink or name five things and go into detail about them. Then once you calm down you realise that it wasn’t anything that serious.
Ok I have ocd, ill want to watch tv but my thought is well your going to watch tv to feel better then everything i want to do in life my ocd says im doing it to feel better and in therapy your not supposed to do things to feel better now what?! 😞
Sometimes I don't feel that I exist and that everything exists. Now I really try to figure it out and how to prove to my brain that everything is real and that's not the fantasy world. And I am stuck with thoughts that it's weird that I am human and I am separated from others and that I have my own brain and everything. That I can think. And why. And where is my counsiosness located and I just don't feel like I am a personality. I feel that everything can be explained and I am just a programmed machine and that everything is outta control. I am just watching. And sometimes I get scared of my body and of my organs and all. Feels like I am trapped inside of my body and I get scared of my feelings and my thoughts. Like I am going crazy. I just wanna escape. I don't like the idea of life. The idea of existing and I don't know how to stretch my life to the natural end, I just need to survive without going crazy and at least to be normal. I just wanna come out of my body and I don't wanna be a disgusting piece of meat. I am sorry. But everything seems strange to me. Everything. Every move. Every thought and feeling and I am asking myself HOW after. How did I think of that and why did I feel that? What process was going inside of my body while I was doing that. What hormone? What deficiency? What is the problem? How to go back home. I don't feel fine with myself and I get scared of everything that is happening with me. My worst phobia was death (ig still is too, but...) And now I am getting weird vibes from thinking that maybe there is something worse than death ahaha... this strange feeling. I don't even know how to describe it. Like I am forcing myself to exist but I am bored and scared and feeling weird. Like I am being separated. Like I am dead. All the time I need to force myself. It doesn't come out naturally. I wanna be turned off. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I slept 17 hours today😂😂😂
T takes me over an hour each night to get to bed checking the door is locked checking the windows I only open one now not used my electric cooker for nearly a year because I can't convince myself it's turned off its less anxiety for me if I don't use it, checking I've turned the taps off I've had anxiety since I was a child and over the years living on my own it's the fear of something is going to happen if I don't check and feel safe I know in my heart the doors windows cooker are ok but it's like I don't have any confidence and it's very tiring because I'm getting older I worry about the future
i think this is wrong, misdiagnose. it must be alzheimer's or other dementia. i propose a solution: to write in phone or notebook like: aug 9 8:46 locked the door, turned off the light
Daniel Mackler’s video on this was better- it mentions how OCD is caused by an unresolved historical trauma. This trauma was unfixable, and not properly integrated in our being, and in turn it gets manifested through OCD behaviours. For me, it was my dog getting hit by a car. The door was unlocked. The door blew open. My dog ran out and got hit by a car immediately. That’s why I check the door 20 times, 5 years later, and I still don’t believe it’s locked. It doesn’t have to be a trauma related to the door itself. It could be anything traumatic, unfixable, you must get clear on your historical traumas, this is the root of the issue. It is not biological, or passed down. What is passed down is family trauma
What things do you get stuck checking? 🚩
I check my phone camra, doors, and the kithcen 😕
I check if I flushed the toilet and I have certain toilet actions that I need to do 3 times.😂😂😂 And I check them too and after that I can come out. Then time goes and I am wondering again if everything is clean there and I go and check again... sorry😂😂😂
I tend to reread excessively. One time I counted multiple times some money in my hand before getting a meal.
my teeth... If there's a mirror near me I get the habit of checking if my teeth have developed new cavities in them or if my existing fillings have fallen out. sometimes I stand there for 30 minutes checking and rechecking...it sucks :(
making sure my keys are in my pocket, even though i have them chained to my belt loop and DEFINITELY don't have holes in my pockets. i definitely checked for those too!
i overcame that one in particular by allowing myself 1 check, and burn into my brain that YES my keys are in my pocket, and that's the 1 check i get cos locksmiths are expensive lol, but i try to restrict myself to 1 or 2 checks
I mentally review/check my past over and over. I scan for feelings, memories, conversations. I mull over details. I even worry that new details could surface, blocked memories, horrible remembrances that maybe I’ve blocked. Then I almost create scenarios where I think “did I actually do this”. It’s a loop that is so time consuming to be stuck in. And I’m working on not engaging with the need for certainty. But it’s hard. Sometimes I’m really successful in using my statements/tools. Other times I’m failing miserably and I give in to the need to know, to solve, to CHECK mentality.
Thanks for being so vulnerable and sharing what you're going through! You're awesome!
Did you just read my mind?? I go through this too. 😭 and A LOT.
This is my life. I feel guilt for things that I don’t even remember happening and I know I didn’t do, but the “what if” keeps hitting me since there is no way for me to 100% assure myself.
I totally relate to your struggle Andee.
I feel you :( this is just like me. I hope all the best for you, sending you love 🤍
Its mind exhausting when you see a piece of paper on the floor or something you threw away and you must go and check before its gone forever. 😮💨 tuff scenarios
OCD and Anxiety….. this video is me. Other than contamination fear, this is a daily occurrence. I check multiple times for doors, windows, boiler etc. Thank you so much for making some sense of all this. I’ve felt so lost for years trying to find ways around all this.
You really saved me. I solved a 20 years old recurring thought because of your videos. I cannot tell you how much pain i was in and how happy i am to have been helped by you
Thank you so much for your videos. It feels so good to listen to someone that is a real specialist for OCD. I almost started to cry just because I feel so understand. Not only because of this video but for so many of yours. Thank you so much for your work!
You're so sweet! Thanks for the kind words!
Anyone with this issue knows that trying to control the thoughts are way easier said than done. But I certainly understand the logic of exposing yourself to the compulsion in an attempt get over the fear.
Being a young machinist (I machine parts for big electric motors on a manual lathe) I’m obsessed with the possibility that my inexperience or negligence on the job may cause fatal accidents if a part fails. I multiple chek tolerances and measures and I get yelled at for it. it’s really painful
Thank you for this. Although i know these stuff from therapy, it's good to refresh it and use this again. I have a lot of checking ocd in my life.
So awesome that you got to go to therapy! Thanks for sharing!
I hope i will get through it too someday
Thanks for taking the time to post these videos.....they're very helpful.
Best wishes from Liverpool UK 🇬🇧
This is a cool Video! I'll give it a shot. It has been a long and frustrating journey understanding myself and my OCD. I, clearly, have obsessive checking behaviors, but there is never really any reasoning or thought to it. Maybe it is because I've done it for so long that these rituals are just ingrained now. I don't know where it came from or when it started, but my habitual checking takes up a tremendous amount of my time. I check the door, windows, fridge, stove, faucet, and every single app on my phone to be sure I haven't missed anything. But you are right, what if I did miss something? - Probably not much would happen, and I'd just deal with it and solve the problem when it arises. My OCD isn't life-threatening or debilitating, but it is quite annoying for me, my friends, and my family. Moreover, I tend to enjoy how my things and my home are neat, clean, and in order. People are usually surprised and impressed with my organization, but they don't see all the rituals and effort that go on behind the scene. I just want to relax for once in my life and let my hair down. OCD is a constant in my life; It’s always there nagging me. I’m tired of wandering around my house at 2am pushing on the fridge door like a crazy person. I wish I could turn it off sometimes like a light switch.
Thanks sooo much for posting this video nate! I can relate so much to the checking of a lot of those things. Really appreciate you sharing your strategies how to reduce these compulsions
Mine is my cat , every time I leave for work I walk out my door and I have to turn around and check and see if she’s still in her spot or I’ll be extremely worried about her all day
Resisting is so difficult and uncomfortable. It’s so scary! Catastrophe sounds exaggerated, but 😂 that’s definitely how it feels. Yes, I’m trying to prevent catastrophes. I suppose I’m obsessed with finding all the such scenarios that could possibly come up. It really does occupy my mind all day at times and other times surprisingly, I forget. Sometimes I just don’t want to resist. I enjoy the rituals no matter how ridiculous or how sure I am that it’s unnecessary. Other times, it’s so exhausting thinking this way. It’s only recently I’m realizing I may have this. This anxiety and ocd checking combination. Here I thought I was just careful and thorough. What’s wrong with wanting perfection? Etc. My father had anxiety (undiagnosed) and it’s starting to seem I may have it too.
I still take pictures out of outlets and stoves, and anywhere I've smoked a cigarette before I leave for work. Even several hours after it was over.
The worst is when Im leaving the house, in my car already blocks away, and I lose the fight and turn around to check that the doors are locked and the stove is off. Its so annoying. When Im leaving I have to slow down and say to myself “ive locked the door, remember this, ive locked the door”.
But then its worse when something happens and my OCD is validated in my own mind. I have this thing since I was a kid where I have to check my shoes for bugs before I put them on. My husband obviously doesn’t do this and one day, he puts his shoe on and a poisonous caterpillar was in his shoe and he lost feeling in his toes, his big toe swelled up and got infected. In my head im like “aaaand thats why you check your shoes”.
My most common OCD thoughts revolve around the house being picked up, especially the dogs toys. If I walk past his tennis ball on the floor “i know this ball is there…but if my husband isnt paying attention and doesnt see it he could trip and die, i better pick it up”.
My husband is a firefighter and i HAVE to tell him every morning before he leaves to “be safe” or otherwise Im convinced something bad will happen.
I hate these thoughts but to me they are life or death.
can you do more videos on going crazy or insane ocd ? i’d love to see more on this theme. thank you! 🤎
This is me - it's awful and even just watching this and imagining taking a risk by not checking causes huge anxiety. My checking OCD has attached it to many different things over the years - now it's attached to my work which makes life extremely difficult as I feel if I make a mistake, the result will be that I lose my job - which immediately spirals into losing my home and everything that comes with that. Rationally, I KNOW this isn't so, but the compulsion to check one last time is just so strong. I've tried exposure with things that aren't as important as my job, but it's just easier to give in to the compulsion that put myself through the hell of being uncertain.
I've thought of gaslighting and have heard of OCD itself as a gaslighter because it makes one question their own reality. Gaslighting typically is spoken of in terms of someone else doing it to a person. Any thoughts on this?
After years of family emotional abuse - being put down, having my feelings and needs diminished, gaslit, having trust broken by those who should've been taking care of me - yes. OCD is a gaslighting abuser that is disguised as someone who cares about me and is trying to protect me
Yes! Thought of this too.
Hey you! Yes you, the one reading this! Eyes and focus back up darling, listen to Nathan first before going through comments. They ain't going nowhere ☺️
😂😂 no way, you got me
Thank you so much for these teachings.
I have this over a physical injury. And when I get a physical symptom, it makes me psychologically and physically check it again. It's so difficult.
I know my worrying and checking is making it come true more. But I'm finding it hard to stop.
I constantly mentally check my past, the what ifs of my past. What if my intentions were "bad", what if I had this thought back then because I wanted it, and I'm not a good wife. I always check because I'm addicted to that false relief
Thank you sir for the guidance 🙏 grateful!
Hi I really need to keep watching this video. I had a house fire a few years ago and because of this I check everything over and over it’s exhausting. Sometimes I don’t leave my house because it’s easier to not have to check all the time. I would love to be able to just check once and then leave but I can’t. I constantly check the cooker and plug sockets sometimes I just stare at them for ages until my brain says it’s ok. I’m finding it very difficult and now I have contamination and responsibility ocd which has all started because of the house fire. I really don’t know how to move on from all of this I would like to live a fairly normal life. Any advice would be grateful
I'm sorry for what you went through. Defiantly after a trauma it's easier to compulsive behaviors. I hope things get easier for you. I often tell people to live the life they want to live. If I don't want to check...I'm not going to check. 😉
@@ocdandanxiety hi thank for your response I will try to not worry about everything and check things less. I have to go out this morning so I'm going to challenge myself that I can only check a couple of times and then I have to leave. I hope this will be easy
You could just start with visualization of you leaving things on and problems arising
This guy is better than therapy tbh
Thank you. I'm going to do what you say. And to show you that I will take your advice seriously I will update everyone on here , weekly. I want to show others how I do. Hopefully it's not annoying if I do this. I just want to get better and show others it's possible.
I don’t have this symptom too bad but every once in a while it comes out of no where. It’s usually a “Where is that thing from last summer?” Even though I don’t need whatever that thing is in the present moment. I just HAVE to know where it is. Happened to me this morning. I was leaving for class and then could NOT remember where I had stored my flat iron a few months ago. I said to myself “you don’t need this right now- it’s not important.” But then I checked anyway and I found it within a few minutes. I knew I shouldn’t have checked for it but it’s like I NEEDED to find it right then. It’s a hard compulsion to kick to the curb.
Thanks for sharing. That sounds so frustrating to have happen. You're right. It is tough to kick to the curb! You can do it!
THIS!! Happens to me and it is soooooo bad when it does!! Totally feel this frustration
Hi guys....I am the one who checks things like crazy person all the time.....here's few things that I check 1000 times before being convinced.....gas stove, switches, container caps in kitchen, all type of bottle/tube caps, bag zips, my turtle tank's top cover/lid, making sure my phone's screen is off (checking for 1-2 mins Continuously) before keeping the phone in pocket....checking multiple time after connecting phone to the charger (if it is charging for real or am I hallucinating 😂)....checking alarm atleast 10 times before going to bed....checking if the WIFI is turned off in my phone before sleeping (several times).....then before sleeping I gotta make sure that I kept my phone away from edge of the table (to avoid falling down from the table) checking that 10 times atleast....checking windows multiple times....closed door doesn't convince me that easily, I keep pulling on the door handle like an Idiot to make sure it's closed......day before yesterday I couldn't stop myself, before the door handle finally came off.....God bless me 🙂
Same here. Did that to my front door also. I get you
Bro I have to do this entire bedtime ritual where I have to check my closets, under my bed, all the doors, stoves, locks etc. it’s so annoying and it makes going to bed so hard for me
same Brother my bedtime rituals are increasing day by day🥺😢😢@@L1MBO12
I don't know if this is everybody's case, but I'm clumsy and have a bad memory, like I'm watching videos and suddenly realized that I left the faucet running. So there is a big possibility that I left the door opened or something dangerous plugged in so I need to check they're ok. The problem is when I turn around and ask myself if I really checked...
I have an OCD of checking things for a definite number. Earlier the number was 4×4 and now it is 6×6=36 times in total. And if I get confused or disturbed during this then I restart again with number 1. It's really frustrating for me . I check each and everything before going to work and after coming back home from work. Literally each and everything, I count them for 36 times in total before going to work and after coming back from work. And even at my work I'm afraid for everything I write and do and recheck them also again and again. And because of this I'm unable to do work at time and take so much extra time to do little work.
My checking OCD started when I once left my home door open and came back after 2 days and got to know about it. Then I checked my each and every belonging, especially my important things. That whole night I kept checking things for a million times. That night was really horrible for me, I was reassuring myself again and again that I have everything and nothing is stolen or missing.
And since that day I have started checking my lock and other important things again and again before leaving for work. And only go out for work nothing else. Because it haunts me to check everything before going and after coming.
Even going to work is becoming hard task for me, it takes so much of my energy Literally about half an hour daily and sometimes more than that before leaving home. And after coming Back also the same.
I want to go out Normally and live a normal life but I am unable to convince my brain for that.
I am tired of this OCD in my life. I want a solution for it and cannot deal with it anymore . I want to live normal like I used to.
PLEASE HELP
Have to force yourself to check once. Very very hard at first but will get better.
Hello Nathan. I want to ask one question. My brain analyzes everything. Every move i make, everything i say, everything i do. So for example if i do something that i've done normaly everyday ( before i had ocd ) my brain starts to ruminate and question WHY DID YOU DO THAT DID YOU WANTED TO HARM SOMEONE ETC.
I would be happy if i can get an advice from you, please.
Thanks in advance.
I check doors, drawers, cabinets, the stove, washer and dryer, and windows over and over again. I get up several times at night to keep checking, it’s so annoying because I can’t sleep if I don’t do it. I have to apply a lot of pressure with my hands when I check, and I have to repeat a phrase out loud while I do it. I have to do that over and over AND OVER until I feel satisfied.
I actually broke down one night in the shower. I was so distraught over my OCD episodes. It finally came to the climatic emotional breakdown. I know what i need to do, but the thoughts of disaster are so powerful. Even my seeing is believing comes into question. Am i really seeing this episodes. Its tough, and after years of habit, it's difficult to break the cycle. Especially when people are present.
Well I don't have the urge to check those things, like the stove, the water,... when I'm gone for a little while or for recreation. If I'm leaving to go to work all day, then I have to check over and over again. Isn't that weard?
Seems like the brain says there is a bigger risk when you leave for a longer period of time. Tricky Tricky!
Before having Sexual Orientation OCD had some Ocd signs like compulsions for no actual reason and checking stuff like locking the door, Flush the toilet, Respond to messages and things like this
I’ve never been diagnosed with OCD. I’m going to see a doctor tomorrow about it. I just had an episode two days ago where I thought I left my daughter in the car while I went to work. What’s bad if I can’t check my cell because I need delivery driver. I vividly remember, dropping her off at daycare and I called the daycare just to verify that everything was good. However, all day I was obsessing over it. I broke down multiple times bawling my eyes out. I didn’t get any relief until my wife got off of work and went and picked her up scared so bad. I thought I was going insane. this is not the first time, just the first time I could not chat. I also check to see if I shut the front door.
I keep googling symptoms :( the thought of accepting the unknown gives me anxiety
I am obsessed about blood pressure. There are times that I check it obsessively all day long. Especially during time of anxiety. I don’t know how to stop, since anxiety does raise blood pressure. So “ maybe maybe not “ not working since I know it’s up. How does someone deal with that?
Some get ONE doctors appointment and they follow their recommendations. If they say stop checking...you stop. If they say, check multiple times a day...you check multiple times a day. 😉
You are just so great.
I left my barbecue running overnight once. Didn't cause any problems. If there was a fire, I've got smoke detectors, and there's a natural gas cutoff somewhere around here that the fire department and/or utility workers know how to find.
I've left the door unlocked overnight several times, and nobody broke in. But guess what: if someone really wants in, they'll pick the lock, kick the door in, or smash a window. Locking the door provides a false sense of security. Recognizing that I think helped me realize that many of these other things I check really aren't to stave off dire consequences, they're to make me feel like nothing can go wrong because I took all possible preventative measures.
OCD is bad for sure.... but to what extent is checking the door before retiring to bed, checking to see if a mail ID drafted well before sending etc. OKAY?
Checking becomes "bad" when it starts interfering in life and sucking time away from the individual.
Do I need to check the key(s) b4 locking the door(s) & leaving the house?
Is there a connection to this and childhood trauma??
My boys obsession is checking on his retainer
I am obsessed of and addicted to checking
I am also obsessed about if my dad would die, so when I get a message I have to check it immediately to see it's not news about my dad's death
Whenever I hit a bump while driving especially at night I automatically think I hit someone or something ….. I try my best to fight it and not turn around to go check but sometimes the ocd just takes over and I turn aeound and drive back ! It’s literally the hardest thing man because I automatically think I hit someone 😪 this video/community makes me feel like I’m not alone so I truly appreciate these videos.
i’d literally record myself locking the door and decide not to trust it and continue checking the doors
I took off the tape of my phone's camera, feeling anxious without figuring it out. Did I do exposure and response prevention?
A lot of ERP is about the response. How do you respond once the "exposure" part is done? (I like the "I don't care" attitude.) 😉 While not doing the compulsions as well.
For me I ask family over and over again and then closely listen to their tone of voice. If I feel like they're answering me sarcastically or with a question I get very stressed and upset and need to ask again and again until they answer me how I want. Is this ocd? I just cant stop asking until they answer me nicely even if 2 days have passed I wont let it go until I've asked and they've answered nicely. I won't be able to do anything else until I've got that relief. I tell myself this is the last time but it never ends and moves on to another thing
I have really bad ocd and suffer from this compulsion, and it creates a lot of anxiety for me, sometimes I have anxiety attacks due to the urge of continuously double checking
I get ao stuck checking the stupidest things over and over and over. I feel like i go blind and brain goes blank, as im sitting there checking.
@@stefanmolnapor910 I can totally relate to you!
@@monicodempsey5349is checking time on your electronic device a ocd? That’s what I have it’s annoying
Everyday, I have to “reset” by going through every application on my phone. Before I do anything else, I have to clean; a deep clean each day.
I haven’t been able to sleep in years by constantly checking my phone and what time it was. Thank you
Now I'm in bed. Idk if I locked my office door even though.i always check at least 3 times. My fear is someone will steal our equipment then i will be fired. It's actually making me feel restless.
Hey I have had a huge problem checking Discord and Twitch, these are two programs that I normally didn't go to before a lot, but tried to get back on them recently and would comment under people twitch chats and apologize for spamming because it was my OCD. Same for discord I always would write a lot and feel if I don't check them then i'm avoiding something. It turns out that avoiding is also a compulsion. I always delete my accounts afterwards. I know constantly checking Discord or Twitch is a compulsion, but is avoiding Discord or Twitch also a compulsion or is that my brain telling me that to make me uncomfortable? I normally don't use either and actually dislike them and i'm worried that i'm giving myself a different compulsion by not going them aka avoiding them.
What's the difference between checking ocd and Just right OCD?
If you are not sure ..it’s just ocd
My partner has ocd checking & it has been getting worse, we/ I spent a whole year cleaning & packing our stuff ready to find some where to move, since all the tote tubs I bought are full, I started packing into large reuse bags, yet my partner keeps going through the bags & tubs & messing all my things up!!!! Please tell me how I can stop him doing this, I've reached my breaking point?
I have OCD guilty for people who live worse than me (Africans, Indians). I always think about them and feel guilty that i live very well. What should i do?
The first thing to do is to realise that there isn’t much you can do about it. It’s rough but you really can’t beat yourself over the fact that you were born far away.
Secondly, please don’t let the adverts trigger your guilt. The adverts do this on purpose and if you look at the people who run these charities they always seem to be really rich and hire top tier celebrities to promote the cause yet those African children are still starving 🤔
Thirdly, I’m not too sure if it counts as a compulsion find local causes make food for the homeless and donate to food banks. But do it because you feel empowered out of your own heart NOT because you have to else you’re a bad person. You’re a good person already because you acknowledge that you’re privileged but you shouldn’t feel guilty about it, things just happen and it’s no one’s fault especially yours.
@@embroideredragdoll thanks! 🙌🏻
Mikail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, used to calm himself and his staff when they were anxious about what might or might not happen in the future by saying: "The future will tell us the truth."
Thank you
I started taking SSRIs since last week because of this. Its just so hard to distinguish if its OCD or I just am right to check. I just don’t know if Taking just medicine is enough….
Meds with therapy tend to be the best combo! Good job taking care of your self.
Whatever happens happens if something happened i will worry about it or fix it later
Slightly panicking cause I just got a leopard gecko and he is in my room. I'm in the living room. I am supposed to turn off the heat lamp at night, which I know I did for 100% positive, but I'm scared it will somehow still catch fire. And the thing u said about checking browser history is SO BAD for me. I'm trying so hard to just not check the lamp right now. I can do this :,)
I keep checking door is locked and plugs are out and I check the take lock make sure it’s lose
In staring ocd , I ll be doing exposure by looking at person i fear to look at , After exposure my brain tell me to stare once again.Is this checking?
Depends on the function of the checking. What's the reason for it? Those are questions you may ask. Is it to gain some type of certainty? If so, it may be a compulsion.
I'm a Radiologic Technologist and I would do checking on xray results like crazy. I think I'm going crazy.
Hi! I had a doubt of hocd? Do bisexuals get hocd or soocd too? And is it true that during hocd, the person loses attraction to the opposite gender for god knows how long?
I am 17, female and struggling with it, please help😭🙏🙏🙏
As a bisexual I’m always questioning whether or not I’m a real bisexual or just faking it to sound interesting since I’ve never been with anyone the same gender as me.
It’s something that I think about now and then but I don’t think it actually bothers me as much as I just think “maybe I am, maybe I am not labelling the way I love people really doesn’t matter at the end of the day”
Also about arousal, arosual can be caused by fear so it’s possible that “loosing attraction” thing is just being comfortable whilst being shit scared.
But what if its a bad consequence
Mine recently has been whether I ran bath away. Time to change how I respond 🎉
What is the website for mood swings? Also, another website you had mentioned in the video.
Mood swings: th-cam.com/video/AtiyZn888WI/w-d-xo.html
I work at a supermarket and when it's time to close the store and I should lock the doors I always check so many times after I have locked them if they really are locked. It's so exhausting and it's like my brain always makes me believe that I haven't locked them😩 I think about it a lot when I get home. It scares me to think that if the doors aren't locked, a robber will rob everything in the store and I might get fired. I don't know if I have OCD, cause I only check the doors at work and not everything else.
Not sure . I always do that with doors as well . I would check it’s locked 3x then walk away then run back home to make sure it’s locked . Even with my phone , I have it zipped up in a sling bag yet I still check like every 4 min to make sure it’s there . But I do like other ocd things such as “ hold your breath for 1 minute or the plane is going to crash “
I don't feel that I am a whole organism, a unity.
is checking one time? ocd?
No !!!
Hi. Are phobias, paranoia and some hallucinations (rare, when almost asleep) and delusional thoughts included in ocd? If yes, then how can we understand if it's not schizophrenia or any other thing where I can lose control?
I don’t think they’re necessarily ocd. But they can play into or be exacerbated by ocd.
Ocd likes to play into phobias so if you fear germs your OCD will tell you “make sure to wash ALL the germs off”.
Paranoia is definitely caused by OCD I like to think that it uses what you’re already afraid of against you and makes your fear of it worse.
And hallucinations are a very common symptom of sleep deprivation. So it’s very possible that by being anxious, you’re missing out a ton of sleep making you hallucinate when you’re tired.
Like I said they’re not exactly just ocd but it’s deffo not schizophrenia. I think the only way really is to really help with it sit with the anxiety. I like to name everything in my room that is pink or name five things and go into detail about them. Then once you calm down you realise that it wasn’t anything that serious.
In PHILIPPINES, It's hard to risk the door.
Ok I have ocd, ill want to watch tv but my thought is well your going to watch tv to feel better then everything i want to do in life my ocd says im doing it to feel better and in therapy your not supposed to do things to feel better now what?! 😞
Once you give any special importance or value to something then ocd emerges !!!
twice check my door i looked the door so annothing
Sometimes I don't feel that I exist and that everything exists. Now I really try to figure it out and how to prove to my brain that everything is real and that's not the fantasy world. And I am stuck with thoughts that it's weird that I am human and I am separated from others and that I have my own brain and everything. That I can think. And why. And where is my counsiosness located and I just don't feel like I am a personality. I feel that everything can be explained and I am just a programmed machine and that everything is outta control. I am just watching. And sometimes I get scared of my body and of my organs and all. Feels like I am trapped inside of my body and I get scared of my feelings and my thoughts. Like I am going crazy. I just wanna escape. I don't like the idea of life. The idea of existing and I don't know how to stretch my life to the natural end, I just need to survive without going crazy and at least to be normal. I just wanna come out of my body and I don't wanna be a disgusting piece of meat. I am sorry. But everything seems strange to me. Everything. Every move. Every thought and feeling and I am asking myself HOW after. How did I think of that and why did I feel that? What process was going inside of my body while I was doing that. What hormone? What deficiency? What is the problem? How to go back home. I don't feel fine with myself and I get scared of everything that is happening with me. My worst phobia was death (ig still is too, but...) And now I am getting weird vibes from thinking that maybe there is something worse than death ahaha... this strange feeling. I don't even know how to describe it. Like I am forcing myself to exist but I am bored and scared and feeling weird. Like I am being separated. Like I am dead. All the time I need to force myself. It doesn't come out naturally. I wanna be turned off. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I slept 17 hours today😂😂😂
How is life treating you now? Are you ok? ❤
I wanna be an animal. Why can't I just shut up and be happy.
I feel ya
@@embroideredragdoll 😃
Is my anxiety still there 😂 🤦 ughhh
This guy basically called me out lol
I also e pierced but I keep checking the time
T takes me over an hour each night to get to bed checking the door is locked checking the windows I only open one now not used my electric cooker for nearly a year because I can't convince myself it's turned off its less anxiety for me if I don't use it, checking I've turned the taps off I've had anxiety since I was a child and over the years living on my own it's the fear of something is going to happen if I don't check and feel safe I know in my heart the doors windows cooker are ok but it's like I don't have any confidence and it's very tiring because I'm getting older I worry about the future
i think this is wrong, misdiagnose. it must be alzheimer's or other dementia. i propose a solution: to write in phone or notebook like: aug 9 8:46 locked the door, turned off the light
i think that it maybe even not dementia, but just natural feature of human brain.
Daniel Mackler’s video on this was better- it mentions how OCD is caused by an unresolved historical trauma. This trauma was unfixable, and not properly integrated in our being, and in turn it gets manifested through OCD behaviours. For me, it was my dog getting hit by a car. The door was unlocked. The door blew open. My dog ran out and got hit by a car immediately. That’s why I check the door 20 times, 5 years later, and I still don’t believe it’s locked. It doesn’t have to be a trauma related to the door itself. It could be anything traumatic, unfixable, you must get clear on your historical traumas, this is the root of the issue. It is not biological, or passed down. What is passed down is family trauma
I'm not strong enough for this