Most of the time, I love the internet, and it's been helpful for my OCD in a number of ways.
I post occasionally at both the yahoo-groups OCD support site and stuckinadoorway.org. On both sites, people are pretty good at providing support and advice, but not reassurance.
I found my therapist at the OCF website.
And of course there's this blog.
But I think most people with OCD also know that the internet can enable "reassurance seeking." I often look up dreadful diseases that I'm just sure I've been exposed to. But just reading one website is never enough, and the reassurance never reassures for long.
This week, one of my main "response preventions" is to avoid searching on the internet when I'm feeling anxious about something. Right now, while I'm not worried about anything in particular, it sounds really doable. We shall see.
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You are stronger than you think!
7 months ago
Yep. The OCD monster never lets "enough" be "enough" for long. And it's like a drug...the more you seek reassurance, the more you need it...and the more resistant you become to it, escalating your level of need. I hear ya. Good luck with your goal!
ReplyDeleteI have a problem with too much computer time in general, outside of the OCD.
ReplyDeleteSeveral people have told me that setting a timer in another room, so that you have to actually get up from the computer to turn it off, has worked for them.
And of course now that I've set this goal, nothing much was scary today. I'm confident that it won't be long, though.