#checking compulsions

[celsius451]

I've been really struggling with checking compulsions for the past month or so.

I have spiders in my apartment. They are venomous ones that pose a 34% risk of necrotic ulceration, 14% risk of systemic symptoms, death is extremely rare in immuno-typical adults.

They're conflict avoidant. They're not aggressive. They only really bite when trapped against skin.

They can't jump upwards, travel by web, or bite through most fabrics.

Every story I've heard about bites from these spiders were people who survived, including a few old folks who are chronically ill.

Pest control has sprayed, and I have glue traps that are observably doing their jobs.

Logically, I know I should not be anything more than mindful, but my anxiety hasn't been well controlled. I check quite literally everywhere.

Anyway, today while checking around one of the traps, I sort of asked myself why I even wanted to look. I wouldn't stop looking until I saw one. It was obviously only making it worse.

I told myself:

"If you keep searching for spiders, you're gonna find more spiders."

A good reminder, I think. Not just for the spider thing, but for any situation where I find myself going out of my way to have a fear confirmed.

So far, interrupting a compulsion with that phrase has made it a little bit easier to stop.

[ocdfree]

Hi. I'm about to go to school and my checking gets much worse there. I'm not even sure it's considered OCD, but basically I have a very strong urge to check my things and make sure they are still there. Like, for example, I'm in class when I get the urge, and with me I have my phone, pencil, notebook, ipod, and binder. Sometimes I try to just focus on class, but its useless. So I count the objects in my head, and then get back to class. And then about 10 minutes I get the urge again. (con't)

I've replied in part 2. :)

[ocdfree]

I can kinda focus in the time between checks, but its a distant kind of focus. Anyways, my point is that I have no idea what to do. I don't want to tell my parents because they toss it off to the side, and wouldn't believe me. But my grades suffered last year when the checking got worse. I just don't know what to do.

It does follow an OC cycle and even though it may be deemed less serious than other themes, if it's disruptive and you're suffering the anxiety, then themes become irrelevant.

The problem is the more checking you do, the stronger your urge will be to check, whereas resisting checking makes the urge temporarily worse but long term less powerful. There's a lot on here about how to handle intrusive thoughts and deal with the OC cycle, give it a read and if you're still struggling get back to me with what your concerns are and I'll do my best to cover them all.

You'll really struggle to focus when you resist compulsions at first, but overtime it'll become second nature and you'll have your concentration back.

[ocdfree]

I have really bad checking OCD (checking locks and doors etc), and at work I am responsible for closing up, this causes me A LOT of anxiety. I think I want to talk to my boss about it, cos it's getting to the point where I want to quit because of it but I don't know how to approach it or what to say without looking really weird.

It's a good idea to talk to your boss. Quitting is the worst thing you can do and whilst doing this job is great ERP it's also big responsibility and probably too hard to tackle from the let go. Don't be afraid to be open about what you're going through. The more support you get, the better.

[ocdfree]

So, I don't really know if I have OCD, but people tell me that they tend to think I do. The severity of it comes and goes, but it's always there. I check to make sure my alarm is set at night, honestly, about 20 times, but each time I check it, I have a routine of making sure it's on, the sound is on and the correct time is on. I also like to check things and count them in sets of 4. Everytime I go in public and have a bag with me, I could and check my stuff to make sure I have everything. I (1)

[ocdfree]

check to make sure I have all of my cards in my wallet. Sometimes I count the wholes in my belt to make sure I have it hooked in the right hole. Sometimes I check the outlets at night to make sure there's nothing touching them that could cause a fire. I don't know. What do you think? Thank you so much! (2)

You've got clear checking compulsions and I assume it's at the very least anxiety related with so many diverse themes. It's looking like you could be but I'm not one that can diagnose you. If you go to your GP and explain your symptoms, you can get referred for a proper diagnosis though.

Some of your habits are similar to ones I showed as a child before my OCD came out in what I describe as 'full force.' I'd go for a diagnosis to be safe rather than sorry as if you can tackle these compulsions early on you can prevent them from becoming more troublesome. Look up ERP though. You can put it into practise yourself and it works wonders.

[ocdfree]

i always feel this strong urge to recheck homework, to make sure ive done everything and done it correctly and that i undersand it. but the things i recheck are always the small things,and i know them to be compltely illogical, but i cant help feeling sick about it until i've confessed to someone or fixed it. do you suggest to stop asking and fixing altogether?it freaks me out since schools almost over and i wont be able to ask anyone about it after school ends without looking completely stupid.

Wanting to do good in education is great. If you're concerned answers are wrong and want to gain more knowledge, then that kind of asking is reasonable. When irrational and repetitive however, it's nothing but detrimental with a condition like this.

I do suggest stopping, but again I'd suggest you try to cut down in steps as cutting off from compulsions all at once sometimes leads to major stress and relapses that are more severe than prior ones.

Fight that irrationality in your brain by acting rationally. Your mind will continue to scream the irrational bullshit but if you provide it with a rational, calm and ignorant response, your mind'll adapt to realize these thoughts are silly.

[ocdfree]

I do tarot readings professionally as my job and I have rocd and lately I've taken to using tarot as a form of checking. I'll ask the cards if my husband is my soulmate for life. 99% of the time they read yes but if they say no, I panic and keep doing them until they DO say yes. I know it's a form of magical thinking but I have difficulty stopping!

The urge is going to be strong as long as you continue to let your disorder affect your career. The two don't go hand in hand and that temporary relief is going to spike you if your tarot reading is ever negative. 

The thing is, whether you get a yes or a no the thought'll remain. The doubt, will remain. The anxiety, will remain. 

Let life take its course a day at a time. There are some things beyond our control and accepting that's important. I know how tempting checking is but you understand the irrationality of it all so prove yourself stronger than your thoughts and work on getting out of that pointless cycle. If you can't stop all at once, try to check less frequently. Make a list of targets or an anxiety hierarchy and tick bits off one by one.