Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has a funny way of sneaking into our lives unnoticed, especially when symptoms mimic everyday activities like constant phone-scrolling. Yet, even the most difficult to notice compulsions can be effectively managed with exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy.
One thing many people don’t realize about obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is how often signs of the condition fly under the radar. It’s hard for some people to connect the dots between the condition and certain symptoms, like compulsively rereading your ex’s texts to gain an unattainable level of certainty on why you broke up. Or maybe you constantly feel the urge to tell your friend every intrusive thought that pops up in your head, even if you really don’t need or want to share these unwanted thoughts. “Not everyone realizes that those things are actually compulsions,” says Tracie Ibrahim, Chief Compliance Officer at NOCD.
OCD can be very sneaky, but that doesn’t mean it’s untreatable. Read on to learn about OCD symptoms that often go undetected, plus gain a better understanding on how to manage even the most inconspicuous symptoms.
1. Compulsive rereading
Do you struggle with reading because you feel an urge to excessively re-read pages, passages, sentences, or even words to gain a “perfect” understanding of the text? You might be dealing with compulsive rereading, which often falls in line with the just right subtype of OCD, which is characterized by ongoing intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors around attaining a standard of perfection.
This isn’t necessarily just a compulsion for those who are still in school. You might constantly reread important work memos out of fear of missing an important detail, or struggle when doing your personal finances if you need to reread your bills over and over again until you feel you completely understand them.
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2. Constant scrolling
It’s hard to gauge when your phone use becomes problematic because smartphones have become so embedded into daily life. Here’s some signs your urge to scroll may be an OCD symptom:
- You scroll as a way to distract yourself: People with OCD often turn to distraction to avoid the discomfort caused by intrusive thoughts. You might be distracting yourself in an effort to avoid what triggers your obsessions.
- You’re using social media to get reassurance: You may be scrolling through news stories—or posts of people you know—to try and gain reassurance on a situation. Maybe you’re excessively checking your friends’ profiles to make sure they’re not mad at you and are still following you, or you could be constantly refreshing the Associated Press homepage to make sure there’s no bad updates to the story you’ve been following.
- You need to end on a “good” post: Sometimes with just right OCD, you may feel distressed when things feel off. In this context, that might look like doomscrolling through anxiety-provoking news stories and needing to end on a “happy” post to balance things out. You may get stuck scrolling for hours if your OCD convinces you that every post isn’t quite “happy” enough—or whatever feeling you’re trying to achieve.
3. Excessive confession
You may have distressing thoughts that you don’t want to share but it feels like you have to confess to someone. “It feels urgent and feels like you are ‘not being totally honest’ if you don’t do it,” says Ibrahim.
You don’t necessarily know that these are intrusive thoughts.
Tracie Ibrahim
You may experience temporary relief after confessing, but you’ll shortly get swept back into the OCD cycle. Ibrahim sees this often with relationship OCD, a subtype marked by ongoing intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors related to close personal relationships. In romantic relationships, this may look like confessing every time you think someone else is cute, even if you don’t actually want to tell your partner and potentially hurt their feelings. Excessive confession is often motivated by intrusive feelings of guilt or shame.
4. Sleep disturbances
It’s been said time and again how important sleep is for your overall health, but do bad sleep habits make OCD worse? They can—especially if doing compulsions is cutting into your shut-eye time. People with OCD are seven times more likely to receive an insomnia diagnosis or be prescribed medication for sleep trouble. Some people find this is because their intrusive thoughts get worse at night when they’re lying in bed without any distractions and plenty of time to ruminate on obsessions.
How can I learn to manage OCD symptoms?
The best way to deal with even the hardest to notice symptoms is by addressing them in exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy, the most effective form of OCD treatment. You’ll start by identifying your core fears, creating a hierarchy of the ERP exercises you’ll practice, and then you’ll gradually expose yourself to them with the guidance of your therapist, starting with easier triggers and moving your way up. Your therapist will teach you response prevention strategies which help you not engage in compulsions when confronting triggers, ultimately breaking the OCD cycle.
Ibrahim says ERP therapists are specially trained to understand the many different ways compulsions can appear, so they can teach you how to notice any hard-to-spot compulsive behaviors. Plus, they can give you advice on how to manage compulsions like rereading, scrolling, confessing, as well as related symptoms and conditions, like issues with sleep.
Learning to manage OCD symptoms—instead of ignoring or avoiding them—helps you live a happier, more fulfilling life.
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All our therapists are licensed and trained in exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), the gold standard treatment for OCD.
Key takeaways
- OCD can latch onto our behaviors in both obvious and sneaky ways. Common compulsions that go under the radar include compulsive rereading, excessive confession, and constant scrolling
- It’s critical to be aware of health-related symptoms like sleep issues.
- ERP therapists are specially trained to spot hard-to-notice symptoms of OCD.