You changed my life Katie. More than you would know I seriously love you. Thank you. Can't thank you enough. Whenever I relapse from my ocd I always come back to realign myself
Hi Nikki. I'm so glad you find the videos helpful and have something to come back to when OCD sneaks back in (or comes back in with a bang!). Thanks for sharing.
Wow, this video of yours has really given me the first hope I have in 40 years of suffering with ocd. I am going to put your advice into action and persevere. It can't be worse than suffering with ocd every day. Thank you sooooooo very much for helping those who have been suffering so much with ocd. God bless you!!
@@ArmyofLove I've done the no ocd therapy . I'm now going down the medication routes I can take this any more I'd rather be dead than live a life like this everyday
@@freefighter465 then definitely go and see the doctor. I am being looked after by my local NHS team who provide me with support. I study compassion Mindfulness to steady myself and will need to long term change my expectations of myself. Faith will help but there are 2 things to OCD. Obsessions Compulsive thoughts. I've been trapped in both and getting help to trust they are just thoughts
I agree with the guy that said stop caring instead of checking everything and constantly worrying learn to let things happen and then problem solve when the problem actually occurs
My fear is rooted in the fact that I won’t sleep if I don’t do all the things that my obsessive checking demands. And then not sleeping will cause an anxiety spiral. I think I need to face this fear…thank you for a great video
This video made me feel so heard I'm crying. I've been surrounded by people not understanding what OCD really is and also saying 'Just stop checking' and it can be very discouraging and make me feel so weird and I'm so happy to have found this video because it helps and makes me feel heard as well
I had the worst experience because of ocd. i had a breakup with my gf after that i repeated her same words like I WILL MISS YOU atleast 100 times ...i don't know why i did that but after doing that i felt that she will really miss me after i write her those texts .....it is so much annoying i also check my switch boards 4-5 times and much more...it makes me feel satisfied .....i don't know what am i doing 😭
I always had a low key OCD checking before but it was so small its nothing. But now it has evolved into something that would eat my time. And its usually on random things. That if it might fail or not done correct it does not usually mean its the end of the world. Maybe a part of me wanting something to be always perfect trickled down into OCD checking everything and anything hoping it will be correct or Okay. i.e. the simple form of OCD for me would be checking the front door if its lock again and again making sure it is locked. (perhaps I am afraid someone might break in or I do not trust the person left at home to react to any break in correctly/safely). Another check is as mundane as a Computer graphics/video "setting". If I make a mistake and not set the "settings" right it does not necessarily mean that its the end of the world. No its not. But still I end up over-checking making sure that the correct Settings are set. Then I check again... then I come back and check again. That feeling of not at peace until I am sure its set. But then again and again I check again. Its some scary shiz... Perhaps the insecure part of me, afraid to be judge or think too much of what other people think of me is contributing to me over checking stuff I dunno. But it sure starts to annoy the hell out of me when I waste so much time OCD checking, its not fun at all.
Katie, thank you for this very insightful video. I live away at college and since I now have a place of my own my OCD checking has gotten worse. My OCD is undiagnosed because I have not brought it up to my parents yet because I am scared they will see it as "not a real problem" or things along those lines. Lately I have been having these obsessions when it comes to my nightly routine where if anything interrupts it I have to do it again. My routine is always the last thing I do before bed, for example: turn off lights, lock door and check twice, check all light switches ex. and if I get up at all before I fall asleep it needs to all be repeated. I just don't know where I should go with this, especially if I am fearful to talk to my parents.
Just started my own channel and its taken a lot of guts as I have suffered all my life with OCD but your site is amazing and really encourages me and others to challenge OCD. thank you so much for spending the time to help people like me.
Thank you for the checking video. I check water taps, door locks , sometimes 6 or 7 times. The past few months I take pictures and videos of the locks and water taps. Thanks for the advice, My OCD seems really bad now.
Lol I do the same. It's so stupid and I know it is but I still do it. Interesting thing though is that this only happens when I'm sober. If I've had a few drinks I don't care a rat's ass about anything and no issues at all. Of course I do make sure the stove is off etc but I don't check it 2 or even 3 times. I also find one remedy is that whenever I get the compulsion to go check the doors are locked even though I know I locked them is to tell myself " phuk off"....or I guess I'm telling the "alteriour" person who has the disorder to piss off.....given that we know we're doing a habitual act which is ridiculous and not normal yet we do it. This seems to help a bit. Just be careful your wife or girlfriend or boyfriend etc isn't right there and think you're telling them to phuk off.
Whatever the thoughts tell you, don't hear them. They aren't true, you've checked the oven five times already your house isn't on fire, just chill for a moment. The more you check the more you feed this madness trust me
I know how hard it is to have OCD 💔🥺. But there's a cure 💯✅. I'm a four year OCD survivor 😊 and I can tell you that it's not easy, it's like living in hell on earth. But I thank God for the day I met Dr unugboje here on TH-cam That was the day my story changed. Dr unugboje healed wholly with his natural herbal medication. You'll should contact Dr unugboje on TH-cam, follow the instructions and talk to him directly, speaking from personal experience
Therapy is a waste of time in my opinion. I've spent close to $15,000 in my life on counseling sessions and I've received more value from reading books and watching youtube videos like these to resolve my problems.
This is really helpful for me thanks. I have a therapist who is not proficient in erp and I don't want to change right now so I just let my ocd run rampage. I think my overall qol will be better if I start to tackle this with your tool.
Thanks, that's great to hear. I know how costly therapy can be and also finding a therapist who knows about OCD is not always easy. I make these videos so that people who might not otherwise be able to access therapy can help themselves but also I truely believe that with the right guidance you can help yourself without having to pay. Not saying therapy doesn't or won't help - obviously I'm a therapist!! But the point is people can overcome OCD on their own if they educate themselves and work hard at it.
A lot of my OCD revolves around anxiety over social media and celebrity culture. My strongest compulsions revolve around Googling things that I know will upset me or make me feel inadequate. The compulsion is so strong that if I try to ignore it I get physical symptoms such as heart racing, sweating, getting too hot, until I Google whatever it is. Is this classed as checking and will the method you describe help?
I'm a 100% the same with social media and googling. I get sweaty, breathe hard, my hearts beating and even my stomachs beating. You're not alone. Its definitely ocd checking and I'm trying to not give it power by not doing anything. You got this!
@@AndrewZaidan1997 dude me too!!!! I don't like to hear that someone else is dealing with this, but it does make me feel better to know I'm not alone 😭 I get the hot flushes, heart racing, sweating, sickness etc etc
You wouldn't believe how much I can relate to this. I don't care much about celebrity culture, but I can still 100% relate to that googling things I hate and I know that will make me feel bad part. For some reason my brain loves to trick me into thinking I am going to find some "important information" by deliberately googling crap that I know will make me anxious, even though logically thinking about it, that isn't the case 99% of the time, but the remaining 1% is still enough for my brain to manage to nag me into googling stuff that will make me be anxious, or googling stuff I seriously disagree with just to "see the other side" or some crap like that. It's FOMO neatly mixed in with OCD, fantastic.
@@Kaledrone yes, exactly! I always liken it to the mental version of the urge to touch a hot kettle. It's scary, like I can't trust my own mind not to try and hurt me.
Riding the wave of feeling is amazing, i'm 47 and I discover that two years ago. My fear start from my stomach and goes into my spine. I feel it completely. Surfing the fear, surfing the aggressiveness
I am having this right now and I'm so frustrated. I put 3 coins on their place and my brain started to think that I swallowed them. I try so hard to make sure that I didn't by remembering, asking to myself if I did it or not, and the answer is always "I didn't, I don't feel I did that" but that OCD seems to not stop. 😔
My normal mind says If I'd done that I would be panicked and worrying about it, and asking my parents to go check me up to the doctor 😭 but my OCD feels real too.. like it makes me hard to think and makes me sweat, and if I act normal like nothing happened, I still have bad thoughts that make my body kind of shaking 😭
And when I make the last chance with my OCD I always say "ok this is the last checking to prove everything is okay, when it's done no more worrying, okay" and when I do something, the other type of OCD comes to attack me again 😭 I can't live a normal life now, but ignoring is sometimes a good idea! 😊
My OCD is not constantly checking but it is actually just right OCD. I have to make sure some certain things are just right or perfect. Most of the time, I couldn't resist the urge to do things over and over again until it feels just right or perfect.
What if your fear is that somebody else won't do something? I check door is locked at night. My fear is that housemate will enter/exit and forget to lock behind them. Hoe do I overcome this?
So whilst this video is about trusting yourself, it sounds like your issues are around trusting other people. This again isn't easy particularly if you are someone who has grown up in an environment where you were given reason not to trust others.
Hi Katie, I've been much better for about the last two months, almost no OCD thoughts at all. The extended vacations I've taken have probably helped, too. I am determined to continue this way from September.
Really pleased to hear you've been doing better. Just remember the goal is not to have no thoughts but to be able to let them take care of themselves. If you start getting attached to the idea of not having any thoughts you don't like you'll create resistance and this tends to lead to an increase in unwanted thoughts....
I wish you had been here 60 years ago! Your advice is really effective. If I may, might I suggest that you script your talks a little, just for the sake of clarity, because what you have to say is so important to people’s welfare of mind. Truly. That is, to cut out the asides and stick to the continuity of your message. That is not to say the asides are not useful, but that when you do digress, you talk so much more quickly, unclearly and the thread of your subject becomes diminished. For people who have ocd, keeping track of thoughts and advice, subject matter, is part of the ‘disease’. Especially when connected with autism.
HI Mark. Thanks for this. I find scripting them doesn't work for my but I totally take on board what you are saying - especially about the speed of the asides! I will do my best to retain as much clarity as possible. In the meantime, you can use any doubts about what I've said as an opportunity to practice not responding to them!
@@23katied Ha Ha! I like to communicate. My reply was not a compunction. My view is simply that what you have to say is so valuable to people like me that any distraction to following your instruction is just an added complication to recovery. I have “high function” autism and my OCD began when I was 9 and has plagued my life for well over 60 years. Many of your solutions I have found for myself but the clarity you give is a very positive aid to recovery. I don’t think I will ever be free of it, but every small relief and new freedom is worth it’s weight in gold. I’m ambidextrous too and I can tell you, that adds to ocd no end because the hemispheres reason against each other! Impossible? Unfortunately not.
Not ocd related lol, but you reminded me of keira knightly. A lot. Haha. Not sure if it's the way you look or the similar facial expressions. Hard to tell. But definitely some similarity.
Your videos are very helful and important to me and all the person with OCD I think. Thank you very much for your videos. Please, keep recording new videos and can you give some information about contamination OCD?
This question has been on my mind for ages. I often check if I'm still thinking about it, or checking if I'm thinking about something else. Because this check is so quick and automatic, I wonder how I would apply this technique.
Hmmm. This is probably not the best technique for you. It may be hard to apply as will keep you too much in your head. You would probably benefit more by exposing yourself to the thing you are checking - if it's a thought you are checking for then do a loop tape....
@@23katied Hi Katie, thank you so much for your reply. And yes I also thought that in my case exposures would be more effective, and they absolutely have been! I have been doing daily ERP sessions where I play my exposure script on loop to myself whilst visualising the thoughts in my mind. I do this for about 15 min everyday and it works like magic. My thoughts have decreased in frequency and intensity so much over the past week and I feel better than ever. Thank you so much for posting these videos, I don't know what I would have done without them. At the start I was so focused on eliminating the thoughts that it made things worse, now I know I need to focus on eliminating my compulsions and by doing this the obsessions will naturally start to lift. Again, thank you!
Katie, I’d love you to answer this question please. Having checking OCD, is it okay to check once, or I should not be checking anything at all which seems extreme
@@Gerald-ov3gp What if it was not OCD?? I think I would freak out and be frustrated thinking that my thoughts are real and that I really have to do what I think…
Checking once is normal. But coming back 10 seconds after you just check, and then check and check and check again is OCD. I have this issue and it is not fun. Specially when you waste time doing the checks multiple times.
It takes me so long to go to sleep because I have to constantly tug on all my door handles and have to make sure that they are secured in the way that feels right. It pushes my sleep back by hours and it’s horrible. I cant get treatment or anything because my parents don’t believe in it. It’s so miserable and I hate it so much. I wish my brain would just function normal because I never used to be like this until a few years ago
Hi Matthew. I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. The 'not quite right' feeling can be hard to withstand but the more you do it the better you will feel. For something like this I would suggest deliberately making it feel 'wrong'.....it may be harder in the short term but in the long term it will break the vicious cycle.
Same here. Katie, what can I do if I am not distracted by daily tasks? My OCD only gets to me at night, usually in bed before falling asleep (at least trying to). I get sudden worries like omg is the oven off? Is the door locked? I start sweating in bed until I check and recheck….so now I am iper checking in order to avoid insomnia because I am worried of being tired the day after at work. Pls help :(
How do you differentiate between ‘normal’ checking, which is important to do, and checking because the OCD has told me to. I’ve recently not been able to tell if it’s genuine checking that everybody does or if the OCD telling me to check. Hope that makes sense! I’ve tried to treat every thought as OCD but there are some things that need to be checked. However, I only ever check them once and do NOT have compulsion to go back and check again.
I have ocd and the minimum times to check is like 6 times. If I don't I get intrusive thoughts, bad thoughts, thinking that something bad will happen and getting extreme anxiety. Checking alot of times is to calm down the anxiety and it's uncontrollable even though you know your brain is just tricking you and know that you don't have to do it. Sometimes I've gone over 50 times just checking, getting mentally exhausted and giving up and fighting the anxiety which is like a living hell
You should watch OCD related videos who describe it much better than me, but a good explanation is that ocd is when you perform certain rituals in order to calm down anxiety
Katie how to I fix alarm clock checking. I’m terrified of being late for work. Ive been dealing with this for 8 months. It’s gotten to the point to where I’m only getting 4-6 hours of sleep a night. I will check my alarms over 50 times each night to make sure my phone is charging, to make sure my alarm clock is on and to make sure my volume is all the way up on my phone. I also have an actual alarm clock and I have to make sure that is on as well and every component of it. It’s causing great distress in my life. How the hell do I fix this.
Hey i had this for over 3 years now the whole period of when i was working and the reason for that its because we r scared to be late meaning scared to lose the job . So what i used to do is on the day off i would set only one alarm like a normal person would and i wouldnt check it at all just leave it and then in the morning its gonna wake u up at the time u set without even u checking . So basically practice that . And release ur fear of being late or losing ur job because your mental health is more important and its okay to be late . We cant control everything
You need to prove to yourself that you're capable of setting your alarm correctly in ONE attempt. The night before work, visualize setting your alarm and putting it away without any checking like a normal person would. Next, prepare yourself for setting your alarm by making a strong commitment to setting it and putting it away without any checking. Once you've done this, set your alarm ONE time, put it away, and don't check it. Get away from it into a different room until the urge to check diminishes enough that you can go to bed without checking it. This is really hard to do, and your attempts may not be perfect and that's ok. Just do the best you can. The next morning, when you wake up, you will be surprised to find that you were actually capable of setting your alarm correctly without any checking. Over days and weeks, your confidence will grow because you will have evidence that whenever you set your alarm ONE time, it always wakes you up at the correct time. The key to this technique is being willing to risk waking up late for work in order to conquer your OCD. That's the only way to conquer it. I hope this helps. It is what has worked for me.
I have this same exact issue!! I use my iPad because it is extremely loud but I sit in front of it ranging from 20 minutes to an hour just making sure I’m really seeing what is displayed on the screen. I also have to verbally tell my myself that the volume bar is all the way up, the sound is on, and reading times I set aloud, making sure it’s set on AM and not PM, etc etc., and even when I finally am sure that I set everything correctly I’ll still put and extra alarm on my phone just in case. I’ve always doubted that I ever had ocd but reading these comments are relatable as I have problems with checking many other things.
You should just go through that stress for a few times to be able to overcome it. I have helped my OCD by forcing myself not to check. The stress was huge at the beginning, but then firstly I started to be attentive to things from the beginning, and secondly I started to trust myself really.
Well done, great you have managed this. Often trying to force yourself not to check is actually harder and takes longer than doing ERP - but glad it worked for you!
I have this weird condition that I check (if I still have OCD or not), checking if (I do complusions or not) checking if (I'm normal yet or still struggling with OCD?) so that just became another whole kind of an obsession, it's so weird and annoying xD, whenever I'm having a good time I get something like (I'm having a good time, when is ocd gonna come and ruin it? is it gone now? Am not affected by it anymore? Am I okay? Etc...)
Hello mam I'm from India I always have a fear that ""what if I'll happen" Like when taking graduation certificate i don't remember i have singed or not on register maybe i sighed but keep thinking about that in few months that what will happen if i did any mistake and in future i may fall in trouble...,i know it's not a big issue but i don't know i even think about a small issue... &I have checking behaviour repetition even I check the street if something has fallen from my pocket or bag or not..
just wach her other videos too. also you should know this but meditation helps. im sure you know sadhguru. i listen to him a lot. remember you just need to practice a lot and not give up
i have a constant though to check my bp even though its mostly good numbers. I have had some high numbers because I get scared to check it so its high sometimes. If I sit and breath for a minute and recheck its good. Now Im constantly thinking about checking I made my husband hide it from me and I do it once a week but how do yu stop constantly thinking about it?
I get the principle to stop checking. However sometimes I'm reacting automatically to the thoughts that are going on in my head and I cannot react differently to this. This is making me react irrationally. I've clearly trained my brain this way but I'm not able to untrain it here. Could you give some advice it's so frustrating
There is security in insecurity- Alan Watts quote you sure? No! and don't care, the quote stands on it's own without the authority if any of "Alan Watts"..."As if" principle is a whole book by Richard Wiseman...Act as if you trust yourself, never lose trust in trusting...Mind has no good or bad division, the conditioning created the split...
Katie , how would ERP look on with checking your facebook constantly to see whether you've sent an inappropriate message or see whether you've liked someone's photo by mistake, which is something that you definitely wouldn't do? Would that be staying with the anxiety and the uncertainty of whether you've done it or not ?
I’m thankful to have found you! I have OCD and for years have obsessed over food. I can’t figure out how “to do” the thing that makes me feel uncomfortable. That thing is overeating and binge eating. Can you help me ?
I am from India. You are a gem. I keep on ruminating about something very absurd. I got admission in my grad college through a competitive exam. The results came online, but an official result used to come through post mail. Due to some address issue , that mail never came. When i took admission in college, they gave me admission but asked me to submit the official result. 4 years passed , i graduated from college and got my degree. But now i remember that i never submitted that doc, neither the college bothered. But this fear keeps on popping that at some point of time , the college will call me cancel my degree and my whole life will be over and i will feel a terrible shame and i will be called a fake. I sound ridiculous, but i cant do but think about it again and again
Hi there. I would recommend doing what we call a 'worst case scenario' for this. This is when you write that fear of losing everything as if it is happening and then read it aloud or record it and play on repeat. I haven't made a video on this yet (I don't think!) but there is a good article about how to do this here: ocdla.com/imaginal-exposure-ocd-anxiety-4847 - good luck!
You got your degree certificate na??? That means you have passed...if it was too much necessary.....then it was not happen! I also think this kinda things like i don't remember i signed the register while taking the graduation certificate... but it's okay... this is called OCD & I'm also indian ☺️
@@sudhirghosh_ i generally don't fear everything, but this issue always troubles me as lot of stakes is involved. I always think that my degree will be cancelled.😔
I'm suffering from checking my movement's every time. Example i go to the bathroom and i ask my self why am i here? Even though i know that i go there. And the thoughts of doing that can't go away. It's annoying and it become ritual to me. How can i make it stop? I think that I'm loosing my mind.
Hi Katie, I have watched your vids and I'm finding them very mind opening about how my ocd works and the way to expose myself to those thoughts, but how would I deal with something like memory hoarding? I understand you can't do an specific therapy for a random youtube comment and that is fine, but I really can't think of a way of exposing myself to "opposite thoughts" to something like a mental compulsion about memorizing every piece of text or dialogue you see or listen. It is like my whole life works like a school exam in which you need to recite every single word from a poem or something, except that poem is just everything you consume, whether is a story or conversation in a videogame, movie, book, social media, even remembering perfectly a picture. I can't simply watch a video and just say "I'm going to focus on watching the video and not memorizing what it says because learning doesn't even mean copying every word", whenever I lose focus (and believe me it happens very fast) I keep coming back to the same phrase and start repeating it in my head until it sticks to my head, it is just incredibly frustrating and don't know how to perform an ERP that would actually expose me to a state of "I'm watching this without remembering everything and nothing bad is happening". Sorry for the convoluted wording on this matter and if you can come with an answer you have a very honest thank you from me
So it sounds like it may stem from a fear of missing something? If that is the case then a good way of doing ERP is to deliberately skip a bit (e.g fast forward a bit of the movie, skip a page etc) - if the idea of this feels very uncomfortable then you know you're on the right path!
I check social media too much and it really hurts me, I have Physical pain in my body bcuz of that.. I feel like I wanna get rid of all of them, so I think maybe I sould install them for a while.. Is it a good way?
idk, id say maybe get rid of them and not install them. its like the old russian joke of a guy sitting in front of the vodka and said, i dont wana drink, im not going to. then hes like well ill just pour it in theglass and make it a bit harder. then he sais ok im gonna challange myself and put it in my mouth but wont drink it. eventually he drings it and sais, damn i my will power is amazing, i didnt wana drink and i did it anyway. try to go out in nature more or something, camping perhaps, cut yourself off from constantly trying to know whats going on, ive been there and ultimitly your always gonna miss something no matter what you do because thats just how it is. then i kinda just stopped careing, especially knowing i can check later, or distracting myself with other shit too
Heyy I am from India , before 3 years I was preparing hard for an exam nd I used to give mock tests for that exam ..in one of that mock test I found that I did some really silly mistakes and got some que wrong thought I could do them right..so from there I started checking my answers again and again to avoid the loss of marks..after some months it became terrible I started checking everything like if I have turned the tab off or switches are off or not..then after a year it became worst I couldn't even copy something from black board in my note book ..when teacher writes something on board I would write it first in my book nd then start checking if I have copied it right or not..in this way it was taking a lot of time ..a lot of time was being wasted in checking and I was not able to learn the concept beacuse of this.. because of these terrible and hard feelings I left studies..I was totally distracted I wasted 2 years of 11th and 12th in this which are most important for students in india..when final exams came I suffered from depression beacuse I was not prepared for that at all..somehow I passed the exam ..I am trying to overcome the ocd and at the same time preparing for an exam which is going to be conducted soon ..beacuse of the ocd it take a lot of time to prepare than the other students.. please help me to overcome this..when I shared this with my family they didn't believe that ocd existing..they think like I am giving excuses for not studying but that's not true I want to overcome this and study ..I love studying and learning new things in scl since childhood but these 3 years are completely wasted beacuse of the ocd .. please help me to overcome this it would be a big blessings for me I will always be greatful to you please help
You are not alone in this i am also preparing for Neet exam i am preparing through video lectures...i repeat a part of the video 2 times or sometimes more than that...if i don't do that it makes me feel that the reason of failing in my exam would be that i didn't rewinded the video and watched the chapter deeply 😭 .. even i read your comment 3 times
Who says you need to be motivated?! You don't have to feel like doing it or even want to do it in order to do it. But I do know it's very hard..... just don't wait until you 'feel' like doing it or are 'motivated' to do it as this might never happen.
@@Koreryn Mindfulness helps me stay on top of my game. I make sure im alert at what im doing every moment of the day and i do my best to not let my mind wonder. I prepare my mind every morning with positive affirmations,making sure i avoid anxeity of wrong thinking. I also asked my doc to give me a few chill pills such as alzam( which really takes the edge off). My belief system is one of Grace alone in Christ which helps me avoid a fearful conscience and that if i maybe "miss check" God has got my back and i need not stress, as stress only makes it worse. I make sure i control my mind by needing to only check once and that my mind doesnt control me. I make sure i get atleast 8 hours sleep each day. I also remind myself that NOTHING of this world will be with me in eternity nor will it last forever so why bother "is the simple joy of being alive not worth more than these things". "Everyday in everyway,everything keeps getting better and better". I hope what ive learned through 20 years of ocd helps u in any way🙂
Thank you, liked your advice. Tried it. Succeeded partially. Reason: ways of checking have become very ingrained in my brain, so the tendency is to fall back into it when checking things like tumble driers - did my cat get in it? (After hearing a story about someone's kitten being killed by getting into a tumble drier). I guess that is normal at first. I'll persevere. A lot of the checking was glossed over in a way I couldn't before, so that's encouraging.
a good thing to try is to force your cat in there and not turn it on. bring some bandaids though, you may need them. in all seriousness though you know that you would know if your cat was in there. the thing with this sort of stuff is you got to just keep doing it. and yes patterns and habbits that formed over years will take more then a week to reverse but you do have to replace thoes mental and physical habbits
Hello katie, can you make a video on how to stop checking for intrusive thoughts/ images (as one checks whether they are still there or not) for pure ocd
i think she meant that they cant? basicly her point was you know who you aare in the back of your mind so quit doubting yourself and resist the temptation to keep checking and reasurring yourself. also goes well with swiching what you think about
Due to OCD I have lost my attraction towards girls. I keep on checking that "look if she's cute. Did you found her preety?" Etc. I usually get sad when I feel nothing. I'm going through HOCD. Can you Please make a video in this topic? Hope you'll read this and will give a response.
Sorry to hear you are having a tough time. This kind of checking compulsion is common in HOCD. The more you try and prove you are attracted to someone the less certain you are about it. I would recommend checking out my video no 25 which talks about how to help yourself with these fears.
@@Forlichain I'm afraid seeking reassurance for this won't 'help you. Instead you need to follow a course of treatment, whether self-directed through videos/books etc or with a therapist.
@@23katied okay I was not thinking about anything but my Intrusive Thoughts are saying why don't you accept you want relationship with guys. And idk some voice inside is poking me every time to accept them and I feel like I will accept them which I don't want to. I don't want to go to therapy as now as I can't till September. What should I do? What video to refer ?
@@Forlichain i have a friend going through something similar. also the doctor alredy pointed you to a video. if you want reassurance know that these methods have worked for people and you have nothing to loose by sticking with it. my advise would be not being afraid of ether being attracted to guys or not being atracted to girls both fears arnt good. just go with the flow and practice not doubting yourself
I’m about to turn 25 and my main problem is checking furniture make sure it is straight and even. For example my bed my fiancé side table and my side table are driving me crazy and I don’t know know if they are straight or not I think they are but I keep seeing if it straight. I’m insane.
Definitely not insane. Just OCD which can be very time consuming and debilitating. Have you tried deliberately making things messed up and working through the discomfort?
1️⃣ Hello, Congratulations on your New Website, I needed to book an online session from it but i couldn't find where to do it , would you please guide me on that? 2️⃣ I have a question about the blasphemous thoughts ERP. IT is so tricky because those ERPs are considered sins and one with this type of OCD does not wanna sin..It's even trickier because of the fear of punishment which may be LATER not instantaneous. I admire if you have time to reply this, as it is overwhelming..
@@23katied HI, you were fully booked for months when I tried booking a session with you two days ago.. I went to NOCD, chose a therapist, then they said they do not offer help outside UK and some other regions I'm not in! If it is because of the language barrier, my English is good.. Would you please guide me what to do?
Easy. Don't bother. Treat everything like it's OCD and once you have learnt to manage your OCD then you will be left with the abiltiy to deal with real questions.
Is it true that Alzheimer's disease statrts too early in life in the form of ocd and anxiety , then it will change after many years later to Alzheimer's in the late age ? Are young ocd patients ended up with Alzheimer's disease when they are elderly?
Is it about learning to be more confident in yourself and trust yourself? Or is it rather about not allowing the insecure thoughts so much meaning and so much focus? Speaking of your video about intrusive thoughts.
It’s kinda about both of them how I understood is like not allowing the insecure thoughts so much meaning and so much focus and u can do that by trusting urself even if u fake it still u have to try urself ,imma try this this may help
How to accept the ocd thoughts as real mam but we know thoughts are not real? Also How thoughts feel real when we have ocd . How to let the thoughts pass mam? Please answer me mam
Going with the example - what if I actually did forget to lock the door? How can I trust myself if I have bad memory/attention and I've actually caught myself having forgotten to lock it before? Though I guess if my mistrust is reasonable since I actually do forget to lock the door, perhaps I need to deal with that first and then learn to trust myself.
I believe i have sensorimotor ocd however i had my cortisol checked and it was normal surely it would have been high if im aware of my breathing all day. Can you have normal cortisol and have anxiety
I recommend studying with someone ...i am just 18 and i have developed a really bad ocd and anxiety since last 6-7 months and lost all focus and attention...i used to get lost in intrusive bad thoughts , used to stop writing and fidget with my nails on clothes ..had my behaviour of rechecking things forever ...mom doesnt know i have this level bad ocd but still she helped me study sitting beside me... Or maybe study with a friend or someone who will keep you engaged in the study and not let u get lost in your thoughts and hopelessness again! I already survived 3 exams of cbse 12 boards by today ..3 more left! If i can , you can do it too ..all the best
This is akin to those beings that trust in God absolutely. They attain peace because they have perfect trust, and so all thoughts, all things, all beings, all situations can be as they are. It seems we are all on our way to the ultimate truth, simply having chosen different life paths to realize That.
Brilliant explanation, by the way! The video is explained very well, and logically. I really love the "the worse it is, the better it is" line, it is where all true growth is found.
But usually when we do things , we can not remember that we did it like locking the door or shutting off the water, some times after leaving, I asked myself did I shut down the water tap ,then I can not remember because of the stress or the anxiety when I am leaving and going to work Thoughts are causing the confusion ،then when I check that causes more anxiety and frustration , so how can I act that I trust myself and there are spots of blind memory or confusion and anxiety, and it happened before that I left and I forgot to lock the door !!, Then if I don't repeat things then it will take me long time focusing until I loose my patience and my concentration then failure of checking, so I look to the lock and I don't know what iam doing!! Ocd is a mixture of fears , anxiety and depression all together
Carry around a small notepad and write down the time and that you locked the door so when you walk away you can look at your notebook and know you did it.
@@RH-sp9zd do you feel like doubting your emotions for your partner the whole time even if your acts show that you love them and you keep having thoughts about wanting to be in this etc and really other weird thoughts Everything was fine for me in the first month then this started
Just the same. Get a role model who trusts themselves - think how they would act - i.e rather than checking mentally what would they be doing? Watching tv, chatting to friends, getting on with work? Engaging in something else would be the equivalent of walking away. Then you have to ride the wave that comes with not engaging in the mental checking...
Pretty much what i have tried to do but it feels too overwhelming sometimes and other times i make progress and almost get totally over it and then it just comes back later and worse than last time then another 1 week or 1-2 month go and i get over it I mean at worst my ocd cheks take 40-50min and mental breakdown And at best im out in 3-5mins Been in this cycle for 2 years and been waiting to meet doctor for half year now :D.. free healt care downside It started from my door being left unlocked 2 times (when u open door it stayed open sometimes when this door was new) and later it spread in other things to chek when im leaving house Things i face daily but i feel more pressure depending how long im away so trying to get extra exposure does not feel like its helping much But thanks i got some tips from this :]
Keep going bud. We can do this shit. Fuck OCD. She is right about basically "acting like a person who doesn't have OCD". I actually just figured this concept out by myself a few days ago. Tonight I looked up this video because it wasn't working. She fills in alot of the blanks here for me. Dont be afraid to look for more free resources like the NOCD thing she was talking about. Also don't forget about the thing she mentioned in part 3: this can easily feel terrible as fuck. I am expecting to be in pure agony for however long it takes me kick this disease, and I welcome it honestly. The agony can't be as horrible as the agony i have from having this fucking issue. Remember the worse i feel the better. Id rather feel terrible now then have OCD later, or any longer. Sending love
Hey i have some bad thoughts too . What i do is tell myself wow thats fucked up thats not me thinking that its just my ocd so who cares and i ignore it . And not blame myself or overthink it . If this is hard for u just try to sit thru it and breathe and its gonna go away
Im going thru this 2 rn.....i keep cleaning my things my area my workspace keep checking on it at least 5 to 6 times every 15 minutes of the day.....my brain hates tat itsz messy dirty insects are there etc etc......i wanna shift my place move to a new room a new house maybe start over .....its just tat my mind and heart thinks tat it will feel better the more i keep things ryt do it ryt but it nly feeels worse the more i do it ....... I thought this was normal organising but uts toxic asf
You changed my life Katie. More than you would know I seriously love you. Thank you. Can't thank you enough. Whenever I relapse from my ocd I always come back to realign myself
Hi Nikki. I'm so glad you find the videos helpful and have something to come back to when OCD sneaks back in (or comes back in with a bang!). Thanks for sharing.
I do the same thing and somehow it’s her thats the only one who can talk me down from it, no other videos work. That’s a true gift Katie!
@@23katied how to do the opposite for a mental compulsion?
Nikki G, and are you able to ? Because the checking happens only when the anxiety/OCD begins to come back !
I mean do you become better from the repalse. So far my relapses have only taken me from bad to worse worse worse
Wow, this video of yours has really given me the first hope I have in 40 years of suffering with ocd. I am going to put your advice into action and persevere. It can't be worse than suffering with ocd every day. Thank you sooooooo very much for helping those who have been suffering so much with ocd. God bless you!!
damn, i have been dealing with that for only half a year and its already terrible imagine 40 YEARS
Spot on,
The more your check, check, check,
The more difficult it is to trust ourselves
you've got the point, but it's hard to resist!
Is this the same for contamination ocd . I keep checking my hands
There's inner knowing that all is well, I have also a need to examine the worst and create the worst. This needs help long term
@@ArmyofLove I've done the no ocd therapy . I'm now going down the medication routes I can take this any more I'd rather be dead than live a life like this everyday
@@freefighter465 then definitely go and see the doctor.
I am being looked after by my local NHS team who provide me with support.
I study compassion
Mindfulness to steady myself and will need to long term change my expectations of myself.
Faith will help but there are 2 things to OCD.
Obsessions
Compulsive thoughts.
I've been trapped in both and getting help to trust they are just thoughts
I agree with the guy that said stop caring instead of checking everything and constantly worrying learn to let things happen and then problem solve when the problem actually occurs
My fear is rooted in the fact that I won’t sleep if I don’t do all the things that my obsessive checking demands. And then not sleeping will cause an anxiety spiral. I think I need to face this fear…thank you for a great video
I have exactly the same situation, i hope it gets better
I have the same issue
This video made me feel so heard I'm crying. I've been surrounded by people not understanding what OCD really is and also saying 'Just stop checking' and it can be very discouraging and make me feel so weird and I'm so happy to have found this video because it helps and makes me feel heard as well
I had the worst experience because of ocd. i had a breakup with my gf after that i repeated her same words like I WILL MISS YOU atleast 100 times ...i don't know why i did that but after doing that i felt that she will really miss me after i write her those texts .....it is so much annoying i also check my switch boards 4-5 times and much more...it makes me feel satisfied .....i don't know what am i doing 😭
You're not alone.
Katie ur videos have helped me take back a huge part of my life that was being taken up by ocd. Thank you from the bottom of my heart
I always had a low key OCD checking before but it was so small its nothing.
But now it has evolved into something that would eat my time. And its usually on random things. That if it might fail or not done correct it does not usually mean its the end of the world.
Maybe a part of me wanting something to be always perfect trickled down into OCD checking everything and anything hoping it will be correct or Okay.
i.e. the simple form of OCD for me would be checking the front door if its lock again and again making sure it is locked. (perhaps I am afraid someone might break in or I do not trust the person left at home to react to any break in correctly/safely).
Another check is as mundane as a Computer graphics/video "setting". If I make a mistake and not set the "settings" right it does not necessarily mean that its the end of the world. No its not. But still I end up over-checking making sure that the correct Settings are set. Then I check again... then I come back and check again. That feeling of not at peace until I am sure its set. But then again and again I check again. Its some scary shiz...
Perhaps the insecure part of me, afraid to be judge or think too much of what other people think of me is contributing to me over checking stuff I dunno.
But it sure starts to annoy the hell out of me when I waste so much time OCD checking, its not fun at all.
Same here,are u able to manage it now and if so what did u do
@@Ashh536 any update?
Katie, thank you for this very insightful video. I live away at college and since I now have a place of my own my OCD checking has gotten worse. My OCD is undiagnosed because I have not brought it up to my parents yet because I am scared they will see it as "not a real problem" or things along those lines. Lately I have been having these obsessions when it comes to my nightly routine where if anything interrupts it I have to do it again. My routine is always the last thing I do before bed, for example: turn off lights, lock door and check twice, check all light switches ex. and if I get up at all before I fall asleep it needs to all be repeated. I just don't know where I should go with this, especially if I am fearful to talk to my parents.
Me to
Same for me, worst part about it is that your time is being robbed by yourself, & you know it & can't do anything about it.
You're an amazing person to have taken all this time just to help thousands of others! Thank you :)
Thanks Prithvi. It's always good to hear that the videos help.
Just started my own channel and its taken a lot of guts as I have suffered all my life with OCD but your site is amazing and really encourages me and others to challenge OCD. thank you so much for spending the time to help people like me.
You are just great! Possibly the most efficient, clear and helpful therapist I have come across or listened to. I wish you were located in my country.
Glad you find the videos helpful.
Thank you for the checking video. I check water taps, door locks , sometimes 6 or 7 times. The past few months I take pictures and videos of the locks and water taps. Thanks for the advice, My OCD seems really bad now.
I do the same.
Lol I do the same. It's so stupid and I know it is but I still do it. Interesting thing though is that this only happens when I'm sober. If I've had a few drinks I don't care a rat's ass about anything and no issues at all. Of course I do make sure the stove is off etc but I don't check it 2 or even 3 times. I also find one remedy is that whenever I get the compulsion to go check the doors are locked even though I know I locked them is to tell myself " phuk off"....or I guess I'm telling the "alteriour" person who has the disorder to piss off.....given that we know we're doing a habitual act which is ridiculous and not normal yet we do it. This seems to help a bit. Just be careful your wife or girlfriend or boyfriend etc isn't right there and think you're telling them to phuk off.
Ha ha Key this made me laugh! I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment of "fuck it" when dealing with the demands that OCD places on you.
Whatever the thoughts tell you, don't hear them. They aren't true, you've checked the oven five times already your house isn't on fire, just chill for a moment. The more you check the more you feed this madness trust me
I know how hard it is to have OCD 💔🥺. But there's a cure 💯✅. I'm a four year OCD survivor 😊 and I can tell you that it's not easy, it's like living in hell on earth. But I thank God for the day I met Dr unugboje here on TH-cam That was the day my story changed. Dr unugboje healed wholly with his natural herbal medication. You'll should contact Dr unugboje on TH-cam, follow the instructions and talk to him directly, speaking from personal experience
I get way more from a video like this, than I do from 95% of my "psychotherapy" sessions.
Therapy is a waste of time in my opinion. I've spent close to $15,000 in my life on counseling sessions and I've received more value from reading books and watching youtube videos like these to resolve my problems.
This is really helpful for me thanks. I have a therapist who is not proficient in erp and I don't want to change right now so I just let my ocd run rampage. I think my overall qol will be better if I start to tackle this with your tool.
Katie, your words are full of hopes, ideas, and solutions! Thank you for being here! :)
I always doubt my myself and my memories regarding locking my door and there hasn't been a single time when I came back and the door was unlocked.
I am still struggling with Memory Hoarding OCD. I still have a long way to go but these videos are quite helpful as a starting point
This has helped me the most out of all the exercises, thanks!
Very useful video. Would love to see more regular ones, you have a great way of explaining it all. Thanks.
More to come!
@@23katied brilliant 🤩
As someone with not much money to spare on therapy, these videos have been so helpful
yea this woman is pretty good
Thanks, that's great to hear. I know how costly therapy can be and also finding a therapist who knows about OCD is not always easy. I make these videos so that people who might not otherwise be able to access therapy can help themselves but also I truely believe that with the right guidance you can help yourself without having to pay. Not saying therapy doesn't or won't help - obviously I'm a therapist!! But the point is people can overcome OCD on their own if they educate themselves and work hard at it.
A lot of my OCD revolves around anxiety over social media and celebrity culture. My strongest compulsions revolve around Googling things that I know will upset me or make me feel inadequate. The compulsion is so strong that if I try to ignore it I get physical symptoms such as heart racing, sweating, getting too hot, until I Google whatever it is. Is this classed as checking and will the method you describe help?
I feel this too ^
I'm a 100% the same with social media and googling. I get sweaty, breathe hard, my hearts beating and even my stomachs beating. You're not alone. Its definitely ocd checking and I'm trying to not give it power by not doing anything. You got this!
@@AndrewZaidan1997 dude me too!!!! I don't like to hear that someone else is dealing with this, but it does make me feel better to know I'm not alone 😭 I get the hot flushes, heart racing, sweating, sickness etc etc
You wouldn't believe how much I can relate to this. I don't care much about celebrity culture, but I can still 100% relate to that googling things I hate and I know that will make me feel bad part. For some reason my brain loves to trick me into thinking I am going to find some "important information" by deliberately googling crap that I know will make me anxious, even though logically thinking about it, that isn't the case 99% of the time, but the remaining 1% is still enough for my brain to manage to nag me into googling stuff that will make me be anxious, or googling stuff I seriously disagree with just to "see the other side" or some crap like that. It's FOMO neatly mixed in with OCD, fantastic.
@@Kaledrone yes, exactly! I always liken it to the mental version of the urge to touch a hot kettle. It's scary, like I can't trust my own mind not to try and hurt me.
Riding the wave of feeling is amazing, i'm 47 and I discover that two years ago. My fear start from my stomach and goes into my spine. I feel it completely. Surfing the fear, surfing the aggressiveness
Thanks for sharing this Patrick.
I’ve just recently found out I have OCD & I just realized I’ve been doing a basic form of ERP for years without knowing it :P
I am having this right now and I'm so frustrated. I put 3 coins on their place and my brain started to think that I swallowed them. I try so hard to make sure that I didn't by remembering, asking to myself if I did it or not, and the answer is always "I didn't, I don't feel I did that" but that OCD seems to not stop. 😔
My normal mind says If I'd done that I would be panicked and worrying about it, and asking my parents to go check me up to the doctor 😭 but my OCD feels real too.. like it makes me hard to think and makes me sweat, and if I act normal like nothing happened, I still have bad thoughts that make my body kind of shaking 😭
And when I make the last chance with my OCD I always say "ok this is the last checking to prove everything is okay, when it's done no more worrying, okay" and when I do something, the other type of OCD comes to attack me again 😭 I can't live a normal life now, but ignoring is sometimes a good idea! 😊
My OCD is not constantly checking but it is actually just right OCD. I have to make sure some certain things are just right or perfect. Most of the time, I couldn't resist the urge to do things over and over again until it feels just right or perfect.
Sameee it gets so annoying
What if your fear is that somebody else won't do something? I check door is locked at night. My fear is that housemate will enter/exit and forget to lock behind them. Hoe do I overcome this?
So whilst this video is about trusting yourself, it sounds like your issues are around trusting other people. This again isn't easy particularly if you are someone who has grown up in an environment where you were given reason not to trust others.
Hi Katie, I've been much better for about the last two months, almost no OCD thoughts at all. The extended vacations I've taken have probably helped, too. I am determined to continue this way from September.
Really pleased to hear you've been doing better. Just remember the goal is not to have no thoughts but to be able to let them take care of themselves. If you start getting attached to the idea of not having any thoughts you don't like you'll create resistance and this tends to lead to an increase in unwanted thoughts....
How did you do that
Thank you for this🙏🏼 did some exposures today so needed to hear this
I wish you had been here 60 years ago! Your advice is really effective. If I may, might I suggest that you script your talks a little, just for the sake of clarity, because what you have to say is so important to people’s welfare of mind. Truly. That is, to cut out the asides and stick to the continuity of your message. That is not to say the asides are not useful, but that when you do digress, you talk so much more quickly, unclearly and the thread of your subject becomes diminished. For people who have ocd, keeping track of thoughts and advice, subject matter, is part of the ‘disease’. Especially when connected with autism.
HI Mark. Thanks for this. I find scripting them doesn't work for my but I totally take on board what you are saying - especially about the speed of the asides! I will do my best to retain as much clarity as possible. In the meantime, you can use any doubts about what I've said as an opportunity to practice not responding to them!
@@23katied Ha Ha! I like to communicate. My reply was not a compunction. My view is simply that what you have to say is so valuable to people like me that any distraction to following your instruction is just an added complication to recovery. I have “high function” autism and my OCD began when I was 9 and has plagued my life for well over 60 years. Many of your solutions I have found for myself but the clarity you give is a very positive aid to recovery. I don’t think I will ever be free of it, but every small relief and new freedom is worth it’s weight in gold. I’m ambidextrous too and I can tell you, that adds to ocd no end because the hemispheres reason against each other! Impossible? Unfortunately not.
Not ocd related lol, but you reminded me of keira knightly. A lot. Haha. Not sure if it's the way you look or the similar facial expressions. Hard to tell. But definitely some similarity.
Your videos are very helful and important to me and all the person with OCD I think. Thank you very much for your videos. Please, keep recording new videos and can you give some information about contamination OCD?
You deserve millions of Subscribers ❤
This question has been on my mind for ages. I often check if I'm still thinking about it, or checking if I'm thinking about something else. Because this check is so quick and automatic, I wonder how I would apply this technique.
Hmmm. This is probably not the best technique for you. It may be hard to apply as will keep you too much in your head. You would probably benefit more by exposing yourself to the thing you are checking - if it's a thought you are checking for then do a loop tape....
@@23katied Hi Katie, thank you so much for your reply. And yes I also thought that in my case exposures would be more effective, and they absolutely have been! I have been doing daily ERP sessions where I play my exposure script on loop to myself whilst visualising the thoughts in my mind. I do this for about 15 min everyday and it works like magic. My thoughts have decreased in frequency and intensity so much over the past week and I feel better than ever. Thank you so much for posting these videos, I don't know what I would have done without them. At the start I was so focused on eliminating the thoughts that it made things worse, now I know I need to focus on eliminating my compulsions and by doing this the obsessions will naturally start to lift. Again, thank you!
Katie, I’d love you to answer this question please. Having checking OCD, is it okay to check once, or I should not be checking anything at all which seems extreme
I’ve found answer, try not to check anything, you will soon know if it was OCD or not
@@Gerald-ov3gp What if it was not OCD?? I think I would freak out and be frustrated thinking that my thoughts are real and that I really have to do what I think…
Checking once is normal. But coming back 10 seconds after you just check, and then check and check and check again is OCD. I have this issue and it is not fun. Specially when you waste time doing the checks multiple times.
It takes me so long to go to sleep because I have to constantly tug on all my door handles and have to make sure that they are secured in the way that feels right. It pushes my sleep back by hours and it’s horrible. I cant get treatment or anything because my parents don’t believe in it. It’s so miserable and I hate it so much. I wish my brain would just function normal because I never used to be like this until a few years ago
Hi Matthew. I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. The 'not quite right' feeling can be hard to withstand but the more you do it the better you will feel. For something like this I would suggest deliberately making it feel 'wrong'.....it may be harder in the short term but in the long term it will break the vicious cycle.
Same here. Katie, what can I do if I am not distracted by daily tasks? My OCD only gets to me at night, usually in bed before falling asleep (at least trying to). I get sudden worries like omg is the oven off? Is the door locked? I start sweating in bed until I check and recheck….so now I am iper checking in order to avoid insomnia because I am worried of being tired the day after at work. Pls help :(
How do you differentiate between ‘normal’ checking, which is important to do, and checking because the OCD has told me to. I’ve recently not been able to tell if it’s genuine checking that everybody does or if the OCD telling me to check. Hope that makes sense! I’ve tried to treat every thought as OCD but there are some things that need to be checked. However, I only ever check them once and do NOT have compulsion to go back and check again.
I have ocd and the minimum times to check is like 6 times. If I don't I get intrusive thoughts, bad thoughts, thinking that something bad will happen and getting extreme anxiety. Checking alot of times is to calm down the anxiety and it's uncontrollable even though you know your brain is just tricking you and know that you don't have to do it. Sometimes I've gone over 50 times just checking, getting mentally exhausted and giving up and fighting the anxiety which is like a living hell
You should watch OCD related videos who describe it much better than me, but a good explanation is that ocd is when you perform certain rituals in order to calm down anxiety
Hope this helped. Even though you might not have to do all this checking, you might also have different symptoms
You know the difference if you have it
Katie how to I fix alarm clock checking. I’m terrified of being late for work. Ive been dealing with this for 8 months. It’s gotten to the point to where I’m only getting 4-6 hours of sleep a night. I will check my alarms over 50 times each night to make sure my phone is charging, to make sure my alarm clock is on and to make sure my volume is all the way up on my phone. I also have an actual alarm clock and I have to make sure that is on as well and every component of it. It’s causing great distress in my life. How the hell do I fix this.
Hey i had this for over 3 years now the whole period of when i was working and the reason for that its because we r scared to be late meaning scared to lose the job . So what i used to do is on the day off i would set only one alarm like a normal person would and i wouldnt check it at all just leave it and then in the morning its gonna wake u up at the time u set without even u checking . So basically practice that . And release ur fear of being late or losing ur job because your mental health is more important and its okay to be late . We cant control everything
Wish you the best you GOT this trust me
You need to prove to yourself that you're capable of setting your alarm correctly in ONE attempt. The night before work, visualize setting your alarm and putting it away without any checking like a normal person would. Next, prepare yourself for setting your alarm by making a strong commitment to setting it and putting it away without any checking. Once you've done this, set your alarm ONE time, put it away, and don't check it. Get away from it into a different room until the urge to check diminishes enough that you can go to bed without checking it. This is really hard to do, and your attempts may not be perfect and that's ok. Just do the best you can. The next morning, when you wake up, you will be surprised to find that you were actually capable of setting your alarm correctly without any checking. Over days and weeks, your confidence will grow because you will have evidence that whenever you set your alarm ONE time, it always wakes you up at the correct time. The key to this technique is being willing to risk waking up late for work in order to conquer your OCD. That's the only way to conquer it. I hope this helps. It is what has worked for me.
I have this same exact issue!! I use my iPad because it is extremely loud but I sit in front of it ranging from 20 minutes to an hour just making sure I’m really seeing what is displayed on the screen. I also have to verbally tell my myself that the volume bar is all the way up, the sound is on, and reading times I set aloud, making sure it’s set on AM and not PM, etc etc., and even when I finally am sure that I set everything correctly I’ll still put and extra alarm on my phone just in case. I’ve always doubted that I ever had ocd but reading these comments are relatable as I have problems with checking many other things.
You should just go through that stress for a few times to be able to overcome it. I have helped my OCD by forcing myself not to check. The stress was huge at the beginning, but then firstly I started to be attentive to things from the beginning, and secondly I started to trust myself really.
Well done, great you have managed this. Often trying to force yourself not to check is actually harder and takes longer than doing ERP - but glad it worked for you!
@@23katied Thank you!
I have this weird condition that I check (if I still have OCD or not), checking if (I do complusions or not) checking if (I'm normal yet or still struggling with OCD?) so that just became another whole kind of an obsession, it's so weird and annoying xD, whenever I'm having a good time I get something like (I'm having a good time, when is ocd gonna come and ruin it? is it gone now? Am not affected by it anymore? Am I okay? Etc...)
It’s just another thing OCD does
Absolutely it is just another thing OCD does - notice how the pattern is just the same as with any other obsession....the content is irrelevant.
this is literally the same thing thats happening to me
i feel so relieved after watching this video
How you doing now
Thank you, especially who work on critical jobs like doctor, mechanic it can be stress ful, thank yoh for the guide
Glad it was helpful Reynold.
You have already cured OCD i guess, since you are good with typing “yoh” and not checking back your typing.
You helped me so much in the early days of my ocd when it was so so bad.. thanks Katie 😊
Really pleased to hear that Marty.
Hello mam
I'm from India
I always have a fear that ""what if I'll happen"
Like when taking graduation certificate i don't remember i have singed or not on register maybe i sighed but keep thinking about that in few months that what will happen if i did any mistake and in future i may fall in trouble...,i know it's not a big issue but i don't know i even think about a small issue...
&I have checking behaviour repetition even I check the street if something has fallen from my pocket or bag or not..
just wach her other videos too. also you should know this but meditation helps. im sure you know sadhguru. i listen to him a lot. remember you just need to practice a lot and not give up
i have a constant though to check my bp even though its mostly good numbers. I have had some high numbers because I get scared to check it so its high sometimes. If I sit and breath for a minute and recheck its good. Now Im constantly thinking about checking I made my husband hide it from me and I do it once a week but how do yu stop constantly thinking about it?
@@AnomalyArcana ok thank you for responding, I will try that!!!
I get the principle to stop checking. However sometimes I'm reacting automatically to the thoughts that are going on in my head and I cannot react differently to this. This is making me react irrationally. I've clearly trained my brain this way but I'm not able to untrain it here. Could you give some advice it's so frustrating
There is security in insecurity- Alan Watts quote you sure? No! and don't care, the quote stands on it's own without the authority if any of "Alan Watts"..."As if" principle is a whole book by Richard Wiseman...Act as if you trust yourself, never lose trust in trusting...Mind has no good or bad division, the conditioning created the split...
Katie , how would ERP look on with checking your facebook constantly to see whether you've sent an inappropriate message or see whether you've liked someone's photo by mistake, which is something that you definitely wouldn't do? Would that be staying with the anxiety and the uncertainty of whether you've done it or not ?
Same situation for me.I am just fed up with this😢
Thanks so much for positing this. You are an Angel.
You are so welcome Andrew.
Trying this at the moment but I'm 3 days in and still getting the feelings about what a should of checked on Monday...
I’m thankful to have found you! I have OCD and for years have obsessed over food. I can’t figure out how “to do” the thing that makes me feel uncomfortable. That thing is overeating and binge eating. Can you help me ?
I am from India. You are a gem. I keep on ruminating about something very absurd. I got admission in my grad college through a competitive exam. The results came online, but an official result used to come through post mail. Due to some address issue , that mail never came. When i took admission in college, they gave me admission but asked me to submit the official result. 4 years passed , i graduated from college and got my degree. But now i remember that i never submitted that doc, neither the college bothered. But this fear keeps on popping that at some point of time , the college will call me cancel my degree and my whole life will be over and i will feel a terrible shame and i will be called a fake.
I sound ridiculous, but i cant do but think about it again and again
Hi there. I would recommend doing what we call a 'worst case scenario' for this. This is when you write that fear of losing everything as if it is happening and then read it aloud or record it and play on repeat. I haven't made a video on this yet (I don't think!) but there is a good article about how to do this here: ocdla.com/imaginal-exposure-ocd-anxiety-4847 - good luck!
You got your degree certificate na???
That means you have passed...if it was too much necessary.....then it was not happen!
I also think this kinda things like i don't remember i signed the register while taking the graduation certificate...
but it's okay... this is called OCD
& I'm also indian ☺️
@@sudhirghosh_ hi sudhir..yes i got the degree, but this thought always troubles me, make me feel anxious.
@@upscduniya3299
Hey man....
We can be friend?? As we both have OCD
@@sudhirghosh_ i generally don't fear everything, but this issue always troubles me as lot of stakes is involved. I always think that my degree will be cancelled.😔
I'm suffering from checking my movement's every time. Example i go to the bathroom and i ask my self why am i here? Even though i know that i go there. And the thoughts of doing that can't go away. It's annoying and it become ritual to me. How can i make it stop? I think that I'm loosing my mind.
so like your making sure your doing what you wanted to do by doubting what your doing at the location?
Hi Katie, I have watched your vids and I'm finding them very mind opening about how my ocd works and the way to expose myself to those thoughts, but how would I deal with something like memory hoarding? I understand you can't do an specific therapy for a random youtube comment and that is fine, but I really can't think of a way of exposing myself to "opposite thoughts" to something like a mental compulsion about memorizing every piece of text or dialogue you see or listen.
It is like my whole life works like a school exam in which you need to recite every single word from a poem or something, except that poem is just everything you consume, whether is a story or conversation in a videogame, movie, book, social media, even remembering perfectly a picture. I can't simply watch a video and just say "I'm going to focus on watching the video and not memorizing what it says because learning doesn't even mean copying every word", whenever I lose focus (and believe me it happens very fast) I keep coming back to the same phrase and start repeating it in my head until it sticks to my head, it is just incredibly frustrating and don't know how to perform an ERP that would actually expose me to a state of "I'm watching this without remembering everything and nothing bad is happening".
Sorry for the convoluted wording on this matter and if you can come with an answer you have a very honest thank you from me
So it sounds like it may stem from a fear of missing something? If that is the case then a good way of doing ERP is to deliberately skip a bit (e.g fast forward a bit of the movie, skip a page etc) - if the idea of this feels very uncomfortable then you know you're on the right path!
I check social media too much and it really hurts me, I have Physical pain in my body bcuz of that.. I feel like I wanna get rid of all of them, so I think maybe I sould install them for a while.. Is it a good way?
idk, id say maybe get rid of them and not install them. its like the old russian joke of a guy sitting in front of the vodka and said, i dont wana drink, im not going to. then hes like well ill just pour it in theglass and make it a bit harder. then he sais ok im gonna challange myself and put it in my mouth but wont drink it. eventually he drings it and sais, damn i my will power is amazing, i didnt wana drink and i did it anyway.
try to go out in nature more or something, camping perhaps, cut yourself off from constantly trying to know whats going on, ive been there and ultimitly your always gonna miss something no matter what you do because thats just how it is. then i kinda just stopped careing, especially knowing i can check later, or distracting myself with other shit too
I’m gonna try doing this for a while and I’ll update!!
I keep checking doors locked and plugs are out checking checking
Heyy I am from India , before 3 years I was preparing hard for an exam nd I used to give mock tests for that exam ..in one of that mock test I found that I did some really silly mistakes and got some que wrong thought I could do them right..so from there I started checking my answers again and again to avoid the loss of marks..after some months it became terrible I started checking everything like if I have turned the tab off or switches are off or not..then after a year it became worst I couldn't even copy something from black board in my note book ..when teacher writes something on board I would write it first in my book nd then start checking if I have copied it right or not..in this way it was taking a lot of time ..a lot of time was being wasted in checking and I was not able to learn the concept beacuse of this.. because of these terrible and hard feelings I left studies..I was totally distracted I wasted 2 years of 11th and 12th in this which are most important for students in india..when final exams came I suffered from depression beacuse I was not prepared for that at all..somehow I passed the exam ..I am trying to overcome the ocd and at the same time preparing for an exam which is going to be conducted soon ..beacuse of the ocd it take a lot of time to prepare than the other students.. please help me to overcome this..when I shared this with my family they didn't believe that ocd existing..they think like I am giving excuses for not studying but that's not true I want to overcome this and study ..I love studying and learning new things in scl since childhood but these 3 years are completely wasted beacuse of the ocd .. please help me to overcome this it would be a big blessings for me I will always be greatful to you please help
Consult a good homeopathic doctor. Allopathic medicine also good but initially they cauae fatigue.
You are not alone in this i am also preparing for Neet exam i am preparing through video lectures...i repeat a part of the video 2 times or sometimes more than that...if i don't do that it makes me feel that the reason of failing in my exam would be that i didn't rewinded the video and watched the chapter deeply 😭
..
even i read your comment 3 times
How are you now?wat helped you pls???
@@Krish_1222what help of homeopathic doctors on OCD?
I kind of know what to do, but getting motivated to not do a compulsion is very tough.
Who says you need to be motivated?!
You don't have to feel like doing it or even want to do it in order to do it. But I do know it's very hard..... just don't wait until you 'feel' like doing it or are 'motivated' to do it as this might never happen.
Ocd can be beaten with 2 simple words. "STOP CARING"
Not that easy on the job
Sure it's simple. Simple doesn't mean easy.
Easier said than done. Doing jobs where I can get fired if I get something wrong causes me to check very often
@@Koreryn Mindfulness helps me stay on top of my game. I make sure im alert at what im doing every moment of the day and i do my best to not let my mind wonder. I prepare my mind every morning with positive affirmations,making sure i avoid anxeity of wrong thinking. I also asked my doc to give me a few chill pills such as alzam( which really takes the edge off). My belief system is one of Grace alone in Christ which helps me avoid a fearful conscience and that if i maybe "miss check" God has got my back and i need not stress, as stress only makes it worse. I make sure i control my mind by needing to only check once and that my mind doesnt control me. I make sure i get atleast 8 hours sleep each day. I also remind myself that NOTHING of this world will be with me in eternity nor will it last forever so why bother "is the simple joy of being alive not worth more than these things". "Everyday in everyway,everything keeps getting better and better". I hope what ive learned through 20 years of ocd helps u in any way🙂
Nah
Thank you, liked your advice. Tried it. Succeeded partially. Reason: ways of checking have become very ingrained in my brain, so the tendency is to fall back into it when checking things like tumble driers - did my cat get in it? (After hearing a story about someone's kitten being killed by getting into a tumble drier). I guess that is normal at first. I'll persevere. A lot of the checking was glossed over in a way I couldn't before, so that's encouraging.
a good thing to try is to force your cat in there and not turn it on. bring some bandaids though, you may need them. in all seriousness though you know that you would know if your cat was in there. the thing with this sort of stuff is you got to just keep doing it. and yes patterns and habbits that formed over years will take more then a week to reverse but you do have to replace thoes mental and physical habbits
I will try this method and hopefully I will overcome it.
Really helpful video 🙏
Hello katie, can you make a video on how to stop checking for intrusive thoughts/ images (as one checks whether they are still there or not) for pure ocd
Exactly
this is also my problem
Thank you so much, katie you help me a lot to fight with ocd , i am watching your videos since 2016, lots of love from pakistan ❤
This was very helpful
I get sexual intrusive thoughts and groinal responses can I follow this method ? Please help me I am tired of my brain
i think she meant that they cant? basicly her point was you know who you aare in the back of your mind so quit doubting yourself and resist the temptation to keep checking and reasurring yourself. also goes well with swiching what you think about
Due to OCD I have lost my attraction towards girls. I keep on checking that "look if she's cute. Did you found her preety?" Etc. I usually get sad when I feel nothing. I'm going through HOCD. Can you Please make a video in this topic? Hope you'll read this and will give a response.
Sorry to hear you are having a tough time. This kind of checking compulsion is common in HOCD. The more you try and prove you are attracted to someone the less certain you are about it. I would recommend checking out my video no 25 which talks about how to help yourself with these fears.
@@23katied hey miss, I'll get my attraction back right 🙁, in feeling high anxiety right now.
@@Forlichain I'm afraid seeking reassurance for this won't 'help you. Instead you need to follow a course of treatment, whether self-directed through videos/books etc or with a therapist.
@@23katied okay I was not thinking about anything but my Intrusive Thoughts are saying why don't you accept you want relationship with guys. And idk some voice inside is poking me every time to accept them and I feel like I will accept them which I don't want to. I don't want to go to therapy as now as I can't till September. What should I do? What video to refer ?
@@Forlichain i have a friend going through something similar. also the doctor alredy pointed you to a video. if you want reassurance know that these methods have worked for people and you have nothing to loose by sticking with it.
my advise would be not being afraid of ether being attracted to guys or not being atracted to girls both fears arnt good. just go with the flow and practice not doubting yourself
I’m about to turn 25 and my main problem is checking furniture make sure it is straight and even. For example my bed my fiancé side table and my side table are driving me crazy and I don’t know know if they are straight or not I think they are but I keep seeing if it straight. I’m insane.
I wonder what is your fear if it’s not straight.
Definitely not insane. Just OCD which can be very time consuming and debilitating. Have you tried deliberately making things messed up and working through the discomfort?
Thanks Katie listen to you all the time now xx
1️⃣ Hello, Congratulations on your New Website, I needed to book an online session from it but i couldn't find where to do it , would you please guide me on that?
2️⃣ I have a question about the blasphemous thoughts ERP. IT is so tricky because those ERPs are considered sins and one with this type of OCD does not wanna sin..It's even trickier because of the fear of punishment which may be LATER not instantaneous. I admire if you have time to reply this, as it is overwhelming..
Sorry just sorting the glitches!
@@23katied HI, you were fully booked for months when I tried booking a session with you two days ago..
I went to NOCD, chose a therapist, then they said they do not offer help outside UK and some other regions I'm not in!
If it is because of the language barrier, my English is good.. Would you please guide me what to do?
@@mdderrek9280 I also have religious ocd?
Hi I'm I the UK I've got ocd so bad . I've tried no ocd therapy but they where In New York America. Do you have therapy one on ones with yourself
Hey :) how do you differentiate between intrusive thoughts and genuine questioning 🤨 would really love an answer!
Easy. Don't bother. Treat everything like it's OCD and once you have learnt to manage your OCD then you will be left with the abiltiy to deal with real questions.
@@23katied im so afraid that i learn to stay uncertain and then figure out I’m really gay 😓
Is it true that Alzheimer's disease statrts too early in life in the form of ocd and anxiety , then it will change after many years later to Alzheimer's in the late age ? Are young ocd patients ended up with Alzheimer's disease when they are elderly?
This is the kind of worry you can just let go of.
Is it about learning to be more confident in yourself and trust yourself? Or is it rather about not allowing the insecure thoughts so much meaning and so much focus? Speaking of your video about intrusive thoughts.
It’s kinda about both of them how I understood is like not allowing the insecure thoughts so much meaning and so much focus and u can do that by trusting urself even if u fake it still u have to try urself ,imma try this this may help
Yes I'd echo blink rubyjane - act as if you are confident even if you don't feel it and also teach yourself to pay less attention to the thoughts
How to accept the ocd thoughts as real mam but we know thoughts are not real? Also How thoughts feel real when we have ocd . How to let the thoughts pass mam? Please answer me mam
I've made lots of other videos about how to treat the thoughts that will probably give you a much better answer than I can here!
@@23katied ok mam but how to let the thoughts pass? Pass the thoughts means we want to intentionally pass the thoughts or it will pass itself ?
Going with the example - what if I actually did forget to lock the door? How can I trust myself if I have bad memory/attention and I've actually caught myself having forgotten to lock it before?
Though I guess if my mistrust is reasonable since I actually do forget to lock the door, perhaps I need to deal with that first and then learn to trust myself.
I check my meds. I had an emergency because I ran out. It was life threatening. Very annoying.
Is OCD related to childhood trauma?!!
Some times
Definitely can be.
Yes it's possible.
That is true!
I think childhood trauma could very possibly play a part in onset of ocd.
How to get your individual therapy ? Any link ? Kindly share.
I believe i have sensorimotor ocd however i had my cortisol checked and it was normal surely it would have been high if im aware of my breathing all day. Can you have normal cortisol and have anxiety
I'm not a medical doctor but I don't think somatic (psychologically induced physical) symptoms will necessarily impact your hormones.
Would video recording myself at all times because I don't trust my mind be checking
Yup that's a compulsion that keeps the vicious cycle going....
Please talk me sth am in trouble
And l have lost all my attention,but after one month l will take my university entrance exam please help me !!!
I recommend studying with someone ...i am just 18 and i have developed a really bad ocd and anxiety since last 6-7 months and lost all focus and attention...i used to get lost in intrusive bad thoughts , used to stop writing and fidget with my nails on clothes ..had my behaviour of rechecking things forever ...mom doesnt know i have this level bad ocd but still she helped me study sitting beside me...
Or maybe study with a friend or someone who will keep you engaged in the study and not let u get lost in your thoughts and hopelessness again! I already survived 3 exams of cbse 12 boards by today ..3 more left!
If i can , you can do it too ..all the best
This is akin to those beings that trust in God absolutely. They attain peace because they have perfect trust, and so all thoughts, all things, all beings, all situations can be as they are. It seems we are all on our way to the ultimate truth, simply having chosen different life paths to realize That.
Brilliant explanation, by the way! The video is explained very well, and logically. I really love the "the worse it is, the better it is" line, it is where all true growth is found.
Interesting idea.I'll try using this soon.Thank you.
Can you tell me what mam told about ?
Your words are very helpful , God bless you
So glad you found it helpful.
But usually when we do things , we can not remember that we did it like locking the door or shutting off the water, some times after leaving, I asked myself did I shut down the water tap ,then I can not remember because of the stress or the anxiety when I am leaving and going to work
Thoughts are causing the confusion
،then when I check that causes more anxiety and frustration , so how can I act that I trust myself and there are spots of blind memory or confusion and anxiety, and it happened before that I left and I forgot to lock the door !!, Then if I don't repeat things then it will take me long time focusing until I loose my patience and my concentration then failure of checking, so I look to the lock and I don't know what iam doing!!
Ocd is a mixture of fears , anxiety and depression all together
How many times have you gone back and found the door unlocked?
Carry around a small notepad and write down the time and that you locked the door so when you walk away you can look at your notebook and know you did it.
Katie, how would one go about applying this technique to mental checking? (rocd in my case)
Hey can I ask you about ROCD
@@randomvideogameclips8971 sure! But I will not offer any reassurance as that will worsen your condition in the long run.
@@RH-sp9zd do you feel like doubting your emotions for your partner the whole time even if your acts show that you love them and you keep having thoughts about wanting to be in this etc and really other weird thoughts
Everything was fine for me in the first month then this started
Just the same. Get a role model who trusts themselves - think how they would act - i.e rather than checking mentally what would they be doing? Watching tv, chatting to friends, getting on with work? Engaging in something else would be the equivalent of walking away. Then you have to ride the wave that comes with not engaging in the mental checking...
@@23katied thank you!
Madam, i am very glad that your videos are very hulfull, is it is erp technique
Wow great video- so helpful thank you!!
13:01
Thank you 🙏🏻
Is there a connection to this and childhood trauma??
In most cases bro
Madam can u add a video for overcome sexthoughts ocd plssss
Yes I have it on the list.
@@23katied thankyou so much❤️❤️
Pretty much what i have tried to do but it feels too overwhelming sometimes and other times i make progress and almost get totally over it and then it just comes back later and worse than last time then another 1 week or 1-2 month go and i get over it
I mean at worst my ocd cheks take 40-50min and mental breakdown
And at best im out in 3-5mins
Been in this cycle for 2 years and been waiting to meet doctor for half year now :D.. free healt care downside
It started from my door being left unlocked 2 times (when u open door it stayed open sometimes when this door was new) and later it spread in other things to chek when im leaving house
Things i face daily but i feel more pressure depending how long im away so trying to get extra exposure does not feel like its helping much
But thanks i got some tips from this :]
Keep going bud. We can do this shit. Fuck OCD. She is right about basically "acting like a person who doesn't have OCD". I actually just figured this concept out by myself a few days ago. Tonight I looked up this video because it wasn't working. She fills in alot of the blanks here for me. Dont be afraid to look for more free resources like the NOCD thing she was talking about. Also don't forget about the thing she mentioned in part 3: this can easily feel terrible as fuck. I am expecting to be in pure agony for however long it takes me kick this disease, and I welcome it honestly. The agony can't be as horrible as the agony i have from having this fucking issue. Remember the worse i feel the better. Id rather feel terrible now then have OCD later, or any longer. Sending love
Hi ! Thanks for uploading checking OCD video . I badly needed it . Will surely practice what u said and share my comments...😀😀😀
Thanks Akshay, I'll be interested to hear how you go.
Thank you so much. You’re an angel for all of us ❤️😞. Can you please tell us your opinion on meditation? Has it been of help to your patients?
I have sexual thought about my mom what type of ERP would you suggest
Its a thought bro its not actually real
@@fegamc143 thx for that mean a lot to me
@@fegamc143 so do u also have ocd
Hey i have some bad thoughts too . What i do is tell myself wow thats fucked up thats not me thinking that its just my ocd so who cares and i ignore it . And not blame myself or overthink it . If this is hard for u just try to sit thru it and breathe and its gonna go away
@@khouloudrhounai8879 thx for the advice
Excellent. Thank you so much
You're welcome Cem.
You are absolutely amazing!! Thank you🙏🙏
Very Good. Thank You!
Im going thru this 2 rn.....i keep cleaning my things my area my workspace keep checking on it at least 5 to 6 times every 15 minutes of the day.....my brain hates tat itsz messy dirty insects are there etc etc......i wanna shift my place move to a new room a new house maybe start over .....its just tat my mind and heart thinks tat it will feel better the more i keep things ryt do it ryt but it nly feeels worse the more i do it ....... I thought this was normal organising but uts toxic asf