Do you find yourself stuck in never-ending thought loops?

The experience of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) can be unbearable at times. Many people try everything they can to control their thoughts, with limited success. Typically, even finding temporary relief is just that - temporary. The thoughts and urges often come flooding back, because they do not have an “off” switch.

The topics OCD tends to fixate on are things which matter deeply to the person affected, which makes it feel even more compelling to put energy into the thought loop. It can feel very circular, and without proper professional help, can cause people to feel very stuck in their own mind.

If you have OCD, you may have significant difficulty pushing away or ignoring intrusive thoughts. You may often get stuck in circular thought patterns and engage in related compulsions, or behaviors, to attempt to reduce the anxiety associated with these thought cycles.

OCD is marked by an intolerance of uncertainty. Typically, someone experiencing OCD is seeking certainty, otherwise known as “knowing for sure.” The thoughts, or obsessions, create doubt in an area where it feels intolerable; thus, the compulsion is any behavior you might use to try to “know for sure” and soothe the doubt. Unfortunately, with an uncertain world, this becomes a neverending cycle. 

OCD is often presented in very specific ways in the media. However, there are many other types of OCD, which may include:

• Intrusive thoughts or images

• Observable compulsions to attempt to neutralize the intrusive thought

• Exploring the meaning behind an intrusive thought or image, and spending excessive time doing so

• Constant checking or double-checking

• Worry about your moral value due to having these thoughts

• Concern about your identity and what it might say about you

• Mental reviewing (Did I or did I not do that thing? Did that person seem this way/that way in our interaction? What do I remember from that experience exactly?)

• Searching for the "right" answer in your mind

• Hoarding

• Thoughts that you might be harmed

• Thoughts that you might cause others harm

Do you ever just want to be able to shut off your brain? OCD can be exhausting, worrying and the follow-up behavior to seek certainty, which never seems to be enough. You might feel you have done enough research, reassurance seeking, and mental reviewing to come to peace with the current topic stuck in your mind, which brings a real sense of relief. However, have you noticed that the relief only lasts until there is a new intrusive thought? A new, “what if”? The relief cannot last, because it is never enough. In OCD, it truly never is enough to fully convince you of certainty. 

Thus, OCD could be described as having an allergy to uncertainty. It typically causes a very big, immediate response when uncertainty surrounds a topic that is of importance to you. Because your brain cannot tolerate the uncertainty, the certainty-seeking process begins, and then you are once again caught in the never-ending thought loop. 

We have helped countless individuals of all ages conquer their OCD, and achieve freedom from the cycle of obsessions and compulsions. You can be next. We are here to help.

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