OCD and Overthinking

You know the fear doesn’t completely make sense. But it still feels impossible to ignore.

Sometimes you replay conversations, wondering if you've said the wrong thing. You question decisions you’ve already made, analyze what something means, or feel like you need to be completely certain before you can move on.

Sometimes unwanted or intrusive thoughts seem to come out of nowhere. The more you try to get rid of them, understand them, or reassure yourself that everything is okay, the more attention they seem to demand.

You may find yourself:

• Overthinking situations long after they’ve happened

• Replaying conversations or interactions

• Experiencing unwanted or intrusive thoughts

• Constantly asking yourself, “What if?”

• Questioning decisions you’ve already made

• Seeking reassurance from other people

• Googling or researching repeatedly for certainty

• Checking memories to make sure something did, or didn’t, happen

• Analyzing your thoughts, feelings, relationships, or intentions

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When something feels uncertain or important, your mind may try to solve the discomfort by thinking about it more.

You analyze. Check. Review. Research. Ask someone else what they think.

You feel better temporarily and then another doubt appears.

“But what if…?”

For some people, this cycle is related to anxiety. For others, persistent doubt, intrusive thoughts, reassurance seeking, checking, or mental reviewing can be part of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

You don’t need to know exactly what to call what you’re experiencing before reaching out.

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