Researching as an OCD Compulsion.
What is Compulsive Researching?
In Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), researching is a form of seeking reassurance. The goal of seeking reassurance is to get certainty and make sure everything is OK. Seeking reassurance can become very addictive. A method of seeking reassurance is compulsive researching. A person might find themselves scrolling endless pages on Google researching. Searching forums and websites endlessly looking for that reassurance. A person seeking reassurance has the urge to continue to get that certainty that takes away the distress they are experiencing. Within the OCD cycle, engaging in a compulsion leads to reinforcement of the OCD, making it stronger.
Researching to a compulsive level is going to fuel the OCD cycle and keep that person stuck. A person engages in a compulsion in order to get short term relief from their distress and obsessions. Researching can be very addictive. A person might be used to searching just a few pages on certain topics. To have it then increase to many pages, wasting hours and hours of their time. Like a substance, that person is building up a tolerance. One or two websites doesn’t give them the same amount of reassurance anymore. Now they feel the urge to seek more and more.
It is very common for someone with OCD to do research on their OCD. I have found anecdotally that people with OCD tend to be the most informed about their disorder! Partially due to compulsive researching. With how easy and available access to the internet is and with the vast amount of information that is available; it is no wonder that researching becomes addictive and compulsive. With too much researching, I will continually be finding information for and against my fears or worries. I can constantly be comparing websites and articles against each other. A person might struggle endlessly in making decisions because of this researching.
For example, a person might spend a few hours researching which product to buy on Amazon. They might scroll endlessly comparing and contrasting products or reading reviews. Hours might go by and they still are not able to make a decision on which product to buy. The simple task of buying that new kitchen knife has now turned into a compulsive cycle that has caused more distress to that person.
Outside of OCD, getting reassurance or researching a bit is not necessarily bad. But done within the OCD cycle and used to get relief, we see it transform into a more damaging behavior that keeps a person stuck. It is normal for someone to plan and research, say a vacation they are planning. Or researching which new appliance to buy. Hopefully with the end goal that they are able to make the decision and buy something. There comes the difference when decision making is impacted. Where compulsive researching has kept me in the OCD cycle, preventing me from making a choice rather than a healthy level of research and then I can make choice on which product to buy.
Breaking the Researching Cycle.
Limiting Researching Behaviors: One of the first things we can do in OCD treatment is to learn how to resist this researching, reassurance seeking behaviors. Limiting access to the internet or books might be a start. Its so easy to whip our phone out and start scrolling online. A person in treatment will learn how to resist that urge to research to a compulsive level. That person can learn to set healthy boundaries with their researching. Learning what is a healthy amount of researching before it turns in a compulsive behavior. Further in treatment, we will learn how to accept the uncertainty with our decisions. With how much research is available out there, there can be an endless amount of time that a person will need to spend in order to get that 100% certainty the OCD is making them look for. It is an impossible standard and task to accomplish. A person may waste their time and not be acting in accordance with their values by sitting on the couch scrolling Amazon endlessly. A part of treatment will aim at helping you learn to accept uncertainty and how to let go and resist the urge to research more. Limiting compulsions helps starve and weaken the OCD.
In Exposure and Response Prevention treatment (ERP), the person with OCD can learn better how to manage their distress without needing compulsions. The short term distress they will feel without the reassurance will be just that, short term distress. Distress that will eventually pass and lead to longer term relief.
Treatment for OCD:
Like all forms of OCD, the gold standard of treatment is exposure and response prevention (ERP). Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) looks at the idea that triggering situations and thoughts are at the core of OCD. Ongoing exposure to these triggers without engagement in rituals can reduce the severity felt. As a licensed mental health therapist trained in ERP, I will assist you through the exposures and how to implement effective response prevention measures. If you feel that OCD has had a negative impact on your life, you might consider counseling and ERP to learn how to handle it more effectively. Please feel free to reach out for a free consultation, where we can discuss impacts of OCD and benefits of counseling/ERP.
