For many people, there’s nothing more relaxing than curling up with a good book. But for those of us with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the condition can sometimes make reading feel anything but enjoyable. That’s because OCD is excellent at latching on to seemingly simple everyday tasks and turning them into time-sucking, anxiety-inducing activities.
If you’re living with OCD, there are a variety of reasons why reading might feel difficult. Maybe you’re fixated on the idea that you need to perfectly comprehend every sentence you read. Maybe your compulsions have you re-reading, or reading words backwards. Maybe you’re worried that reading about certain topics will trigger intrusive thoughts. These concerns can make it difficult to transition smoothly from page to page—or lead you to avoid reading altogether.
In this article, we’ll discuss OCD’s impact on reading, get clarity on whether you’re dealing with a learning disability, and break down treatment options.
Can OCD impact the way you read?
All cases of OCD are unique, so some people with OCD may find their reading habits impacted, while others won’t.
OCD is marked by two distinct symptoms: obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are thoughts, sensations, images, feelings, or urges that are intrusive, unwanted, and lead to distress. People with OCD respond to their obsessions with compulsions—repetitive behaviors or mental acts done in an attempt to neutralize intrusive thoughts, calm anxiety, or prevent a “bad thing” from happening.
Reading-related obsessions
1. Reading comprehension
Some people with OCD develop obsessions around reading comprehension. These obsessions might center on preparing adequately for upcoming tests or work presentations. Or, you might just feel deeply uncomfortable with a lack of total certainty about what you read. Unfortunately, OCD goes farther than just trying to gain clarity—which can be helpful sometimes when reading. OCD may put doubts in your head that you will never really understand what you’re reading unless you perform compulsions.
These intrusive thoughts might sound like:
- “If I don’t digest all the information in my textbook perfectly, I’ll fail my test.”
- “What if I don’t re-read my boss’s email and I miss a task and get fired?”
- “If I don’t re-read my boyfriend’s text 10 times, he’ll break up with me.”
- “If I don’t re-read each sentence until I totally grasp the meaning, I won’t be able to understand the novel.”
2. Triggering topics
Some people with OCD may become obsessed with the idea that reading about certain topics will trigger other difficult intrusive thoughts—or, that the very act of picking up a book about a specific topic says something important about who you are.
For example, if you have struggled with harm OCD—a subtype of OCD characterized by intrusive thoughts about harming others or yourself—you may feel afraid to read content that discusses violence. When thinking about reading a murder mystery, you might find yourself thinking: “Why do I want to read a book about murder? Does that mean I’m a murderer?” These thoughts can manifest around a variety of subjects, from religion to relationships—and may trigger a range of compulsions in response.
Even if you aren’t obsessing and compulsing about whatever specific topic you’re reading, just having OCD might serve as a distraction. Any intrusive thoughts you’ve been dealing with may cloud your head, making it difficult to get into the groove of reading.
Reading-related compulsions
1. Re-reading
Many people with OCD struggle with reading because they feel the need to re-read pages, passages, sentences—or even words—a certain number of times before they allow themselves to move forward. This behavior is often a reaction to concerns about reading comprehension, and can be a symptom of the perfectionism subtype of OCD, which is characterized by ongoing intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors around attaining a standard of perfection.
2. Specific reading patterns
You might feel the need to read passages an even or odd amount of times, or read in other specific patterns that feel satisfying. “With my own OCD, I often feel the need to read a word forward and then backward and then forward again to ‘correct’ the backward part I just did,” says Tracie Ibrahim, LMFT, CST, and chief compliance officer at NOCD.
3. Avoidance
Avoidance is a common compulsion when it comes to reading-related OCD, whether it’s done in an effort to steer clear of certain topics, or because reading has become too exhausting or distressing. You may whittle your library down to books that don’t touch on anything explicit out of fear that you’ll be triggered, or even stop reading altogether.
People may choose not to read because [it] feels so overwhelming and distressing, making it feel like an impossible task just to get through reading a simple passage,”
Tracie Ibrahim
4. Checking
If you’re navigating intrusive thoughts around specific topics, like harm, religion, or relationships, you find yourself regularly “checking” to see how a certain passage made you feel. Sometimes people will try to “neutralize” words that feel triggering to their OCD, according to Ibrahim. That might mean attempting to replace a “bad” word in your mind with a “good” one to cancel it out.
Impacts
OCD’s impact on reading isn’t just confined to reading for pleasure. You may find yourself struggling to read news headlines, work emails, road signs, flyers, directions, or social media posts.
While avoiding reading can be detrimental to navigating daily tasks, compulsions like re-reading can trigger an OCD loop that’s incredibly time-consuming. “It gets in the way of someone being able to complete necessary tasks of their work or studying,” Ibrahim explains. You might end up missing important work or school deadlines. For example, when my OCD was flaring in high school, I would spend a lot of time re-reading test questions in an effort to perfectly understand them. Eventually, the bell would ring and I’d realize I still hadn’t answered most of the questions on the test.
Reading OCD vs. Dyslexia: Know the difference
While OCD can interfere with your reading, it’s not technically considered a learning disability. Learning disabilities are neurological disorders that disrupt how the brain processes information, whereas OCD is a mental health condition that can cause emotional reactions that make it difficult to read.
It’s important to note that while OCD is not recognized as a learning disability in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, it can be considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If OCD is significantly impacting your ability to perform at work or school, you may be able to access accommodations, such as extra time on assignments. Accommodations can be a helpful way to manage responsibilities, while you seek treatment.
Treating reading-related OCD
If you think you have to give up on reading due to your OCD, don’t put the book back on the shelf just yet. There are effective strategies for addressing whatever your reading-related obsessions or compulsions may be. Exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy is an evidence-based treatment specifically designed for OCD. To start, an ERP-trained therapist will help you identify what your main obsessions and compulsions are. Perhaps you’re concerned about a lack of reading comprehension. Or, maybe your obsessions center on avoiding topics that you’re afraid will trigger intrusive thoughts.
Once you’ve identified your main obsessions and compulsions, you and your therapist will move onto “response prevention,” which entails slowly exposing you to situations that trigger your intrusive thoughts or obsessions, so you can learn to resist performing compulsions. Let’s say that your fear of not understanding is leading you to excessively re-read. Your therapist might work with you to gradually reduce the amount of times you re-read a given passage. Eventually, you might graduate to keeping a piece of paper above the section you’ve previously read, preventing you from going back and re-reading.
By slowly resisting the urge to re-read, you’ll learn to sit with the discomfort of potentially not understanding everything you read. In time, you’ll be able to read without constantly worrying that you’re missing something vital. Eventually, you’ll become comfortable with the fact you might not entirely comprehend everything you read—and that’s okay.
These exercises will probably feel hard, and may trigger some difficult emotions. Just know that you’ll have an expert therapist by your side to support you every step of the way.
Find the right OCD therapist for you
All our therapists are licensed and trained in exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), the gold standard treatment for OCD.
Key takeaways
- Intrusive thoughts and compulsions can make reading with OCD difficult.
- Common reading-related obsessions and compulsions include worrying about not fully understanding a text, re-reading, and avoiding reading altogether.
- OCD’s impact on reading can make it difficult to engage in reading for pleasure, and can complicate important daily tasks.
- OCD is not a learning disability, but it can affect how you engage with written language.
- If OCD is seriously impacting your ability to function at work or school, you may be eligible for accommodations, while you seek treatment.
- ERP therapy can help you manage OCD-related reading struggles, so you can find joy in reading again.
