How do you try and act on compulsions? - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Message Board

kotitka · 05-17-2007, 07:51 AM

I have this thing that if I do something, it will steer events into negative direction. Like, I've been obsessing over a staple I put into an office document. I felt I had to remove it otherwise if it stays there I may be locked up forever in jail. No connection, and it's crazy. First thing I did this morning, I removed that staple. Now I feel I have to do this over again. It's ruining my day.
I thought I was so strong yesterday...

kotitka · 05-17-2007, 09:44 AM

*I meant "how do you try and not act on compulsions"*

seriousperson · 05-17-2007, 09:32 PM

That's easier said than done.
But with something as innocuous as pulling out a staple, well, that might be a good thing to practice Exposure and Response therapy.
So, each time you want to pull out the staple, you wait a little longer, like maybe an hour longer.
And eventually you don't do it.
I may have that wrong.
Maybe you're just not supposed to pull the staple no matter what, but that seems unrealistic.
I do know that the idea is to not pull the staple untill the anxiety goes away--after which you wouldn't need to pull it anyway.
Can someone else explain this better?

kotitka · 05-18-2007, 08:56 AM

Usually it works - like waiting and then I forget and it goes away; but not this time. I just have this thing about "forever" - like I was thinking, I will not pull it, and then it will be processed and put away to storage where I will never have access, and then what if it does influence something, and then I won't be able to do something about it. I fully realize it's rubbish, and but a conclusion like that would strike me sometimes and it's hard to deal with it.
Good news, though, I finally made appt to see a therapist, I've been putting it away for a few months.

miyu · 05-18-2007, 12:54 PM

It will not influence something, those are irrational thoughts, and if you act on them you are only feeding your irrational side. it will only get worse. So keep telling yourself how irrational you are being, if you truly get anxiety about it, then try to deal with that. But sometimes with OCD we get an idea, and we think if we do it the anxiety will go away, but you just end up creating more anxiety because your feeding your OCD. So don’t

For example, its just one staple that is bugging you, but if your remove each staple that bugs you, you will find that the anxiety keeps coming back, and it comes back stronger and stronger, until you are removing staples everywhere. And then its really hard to beat.. I had the same thing with my hair, I had many bald spots.