A Guide to Overcoming Sensorimotor OCD (Introduction)

Note: All parts of the guide have been updated as of Sep 2022 after much discussion from those suffering from SOCD and my own experience. In particular I have considerably adjusted the ERP approach, as I now believe that is better to simply avoid doing any explicit rituals, rather than trying to literally do nothing, which seems to have been causing some issues for people.

There was a time in my life where I was utterly miserable, completely consumed by anxiety and dread. Each day was a struggle, yet no one else could see or even knew what I was facing. I felt like I was in a bubble, suffering alone silently, while others went about their lives seemingly without any troubles.

The problem was that I just couldn’t stop thinking about bodily processes like breathing, blinking and swallowing. I didn’t want to be conscious of them. I wanted them to happen automatically so I could get on with my life. But the more I tried to avoid thinking about them, the more they followed me and the more anxious I got, until every waking moment I was thinking about them. It wasn’t just anxiety though, it was dread and a constant pain I felt deep inside. I remember I kept thinking “Am I going to be haunted by this for the rest of my life?”. There was only thing I wanted, and that was somehow to be free of this affliction.

I can now say that I am. My darkest period was many years ago now, way back in 2012. It took several months initially, and it wasn’t always smooth, but I eventually got back to living a normal life.

What is sensorimotor OCD?

I didn’t know it then, but what I was suffering from something known as sensorimotor OCD (SOCD for short). Essentially you become aware or conscious in some way of some bodily sensation; it could be breathing, blinking, swallowing, or a whole host of other things. But you don’t want to have this consciousness of it. Perhaps you think it means you can’t enjoy life, do things normally, or maybe you’re worried about health effects from not doing them properly. Whatever the reason, you want it gone.

The problem is, each time you think about the thought, the awareness is there. You try to stop thinking about the thought; but that doesn’t work; all that you can think about IS the thought, and so the awareness is constantly there; exactly what you don’t want. And you feel terrible anxiety and pain every moment you remember it. You might try other rituals (mental or physical) such as trying to ‘do it properly’ or distracting yourself, but these don’t really help either. It’s easy to get negative and think that this will ruin the rest of your life, and this makes you feel even worse.

It may not seem like it, but this is actually a form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Although quite different from classical forms of OCD like hand-washing, the fundamental principles are the same. There’s some faulty beliefs involved and anxiety, and you feel like doing behaviours/compulsions to mitigate it. However, these only make the anxiety worse.

But what makes SOCD worse than your usual kinds of OCD is that you can’t escape from it. There’s no respite. You can’t run away from your thoughts. And the more you’re worried about, the more you remember it, and it can make every waking moment a living hell. Unfortunately, often suicidal thoughts aren’t far away. There’s also often a constant gnawing feeling of pain, dread and discomfort, which is not the case for other forms of OCD or anxiety.

Note: Throughout this guide, when I use the word ‘obsession‘ or ‘sensation‘, I’m referring to becoming obsessively aware or conscious of some bodily sensation that you can’t stop thinking about, such as breathing, blinking, swallowing, eye floaters, your nose (there’s a never ending list of these!).

A Step by Step Guide to Overcoming Sensorimotor OCD

Having been through this and been blessed to be on the other side, I want to help people overcome this rare, difficult to diagnose, yet very debilitating condition. I’ve written a step by step guide based on principles used by psychologists as well as my own experience. I’m also here to help with any questions or issues you might be facing personally.

My guide is structured as follows (see all units listed here):

Module 1 – Getting Your Mind Straight (CBT): This is all about understanding what’s going on in your mind with sensorimotor OCD. We’ll explore the right way to think about SOCD, consider problematic beliefs causing your anxiety and how these can be challenged, and then finally how to develop the right attitude to overcome this. This is the foundation to change, and can be completed relatively quickly.

Module 2 – Exposure and Response Therapy (ERP): This is where we actually start taking action and begin facing the OCD head on. Essentially we ‘expose’ ourselves to what we’ve been afraid of, and eventually our brains will habituate to the sensation and anxiety will diminish. We’ll first look at what your existing triggers and compulsions are, then the different kinds of exposures you can do, and finally discuss your mindset and putting this into practice. This can be quite difficult, but this is where with consistent effort, the anxiety will really begin to decrease. This stage usually will take a month or two, after which the anxiety should be significantly reduced.

Module 3 – Moving Beyond Sensorimotor OCD: This is where we look beyond to a life free of body-focused obsessions. Generally, people find it can return, months or even years later. Sometimes, some anxiety lingers as well. This is about dealing with these kinds of things so you can be anxiety free in the long run. We want 100% recovery, not 80% or that it comes back again and again.

I wish you all the best in your recovery. A normal life, completely free of this, is possible for you 🙂 . I’d love to hear your stories in the comments, and feel free to leave a comment or ask a question!

Continue to 1.1 The Goal

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Leah

Hi,

I’ve read a bit of your article and I’ve noticed this for months now, it started when I was feeling pretty anxious and then out of the blue I was just conscious of my blinking! The first few weeks I noticed it were quite hard and I did start feeling down because of it but I wouldn’t let it stop me from seeing people and going about my daily life, I found this article before which told me to just think about my blinking but that didn’t really help with me and luckily I started seeing a therapist in January to do with my anxiety and depression after being on a 9 month waiting list and he said it’s best to accept it and then focus on other things and to try not to be anxious when I am conscious of it.
After speaking to him I felt relieved and it did go away for a couple of months but came back in March, I have been trying to do the same thing but i am still aware of it however this time round I see the blinking in a more relaxed way, I can get anxious sometimes though still, usually if I’m in a busy place or even just on my own at home but the anxiety’s not as bad as before and speaking to my therapist has helped a lot as well, I find this article really interesting from what I’ve read so far too but I’ve got a bit more to read yet, sorry for the essay by the way haha, I thought I’d just share my experience!

Leah 🙂

Abby

Hi there – great article! I’m hooked on blinking at the moment and starting ERP. One of the main things my mind is telling me is that my mind will never ‘unlock’ the thought of blinking. I’ve gone most of the day today without any anxiety (it was mostly this morning). Hoping to make some progress soon

ABBY MUNN

This makes so much sense, thank you Aadil!

John

Hi I suffer from the OCD swallowing. You mention that I should resist the urge to swallow, however I find that actually tends to make it worse then if I were to just swallow whenever feels “natural”. To be clear, I’m not so much obsessed with swallowing, but more the saliva just keeps building up in my mouth at times which forces me to swallow it.

John

OK, thank you

John

Thanks again for the advice. Is there anywhere that supports this approach of letting the saliva sit and not swallowing it consciously / the swallowing being the compulsion? Because I find that when I use that approach I’m often debating when to swallow the saliva which makes it worse. And I’ve seen many other resources say to just swallow whenever and not care – why would this be the wrong approach?

John

OK thank you again for all the help, it’s really appreciated. Yea I’d say whenever I feel the saliva build I often try not to pay attention to it and just let myself swallow whenever I get the urge / it feels natural – usually it’s every ~30 seconds but could be more / less frequent depending on how engaged or distracted I am in another activity. If I’m engaged in another activity usually it happens without me thinking about it – but it’s when I have nothing on my mind that things get tricky and I find my body doesn’t swallow the saliva as “subconsciously”. But it sounds like we are saying basically the same thing?

For me the thing is the swallowing saliva is not pleasant, if anything it’s kind of painful. So (I think) my compulsions are reaching for food or water which feel good to swallow. But I hear you on your point here.

I actually got over this swallowing issue before and it wasn’t an issue for a few years – I started a super busy job and I think my brain basically just didn’t have enough space to think about the OCD. Whenever it arose I would just tell myself don’t fight it, let it be and within minutes it was gone. But then out of nowhere a month or so ago it returned but using the same approach as always it persisted that day and has basically been 24/7 since then, probably because I started doing a bunch of googling and I turned it into a bigger problem than it is. At the core this definitely is mental, but I do wonder if there could be anything physical that’s making this harder to deal with too (I’m seeing an ENT soon to confirm).

Brent

Hello, thank you for putting this together. Have you really overcome this issue? My ocd is focused on saliva and social interactions. Would you say that the acceptance is more important than the erp?

Fede

Hi, I have swallow OCD. I swallow every second and it feels horrible. I don’t know how to stop it. I tried to swallow after 5 minutes (I put a timer) but I can’t resist.
I feel saliva in my mouth and I swallow.
Do you know any tips to not doing it?
I need help, I feel so frustrated
Thank you

Arpie

Hi i have swallowing ocd but now only 10% almost gone.. 1st remove fear if u have fears.. see theres nothing scary in ur sensation its ur mind making up problems and staying focused on it!! Key tip is acceptance and not judging what ur feeling .. if u have awareness accept it to be there .. let that second or moment pass without judging or getting anxious like oh no i started noticing again !! Keep silent!! Dont try to do certain things to swalow in controlling ways!! When u do it consiously u get stuck for more minutes hrs focusing!! If u have addiction or urge to swallow each time u feel it!! Try reducing try to keep saliva in ur mouth more and let it wait!! Its all training ur mind!! And dont be afraid if u dnt control it it happens automatically!! When talking also dnt be afraid read books and train ur focus to nt focus on the mouth! Let sensations awareness be there and try to mindfully focus on smtn else ! Base tip is to remove anxiety and irational beliefs that it will be stuck!! As thoughts dnt try to fight them resist them ! Let it come and pass like clouds ! Engagement wt sensation n thoughts makes it worse! Show ur mind fake it that u dont care! Remove the fear response ! So ur brain learns theres no danger! And slowly by time during months of practice u change! Bt repetition is important! Deciding ur atitude and moving working through it! U can also put reminders and swalow conciously during the day! To see n train ur mind its boring! Bt when u get sensation and try to swalow in controling ways that keeps u stuck! And offcourse change beliefs/attitudes/ avoidances !! Whatever u do u have to show ur mind no fear! No rejection! No fighting to stop! Checking if its there! Needs time and practice !

Arpie

U can also chew gum and train ur mind to focus on somethings else.. and Erp is to expose urself to salivating response prevention is to remove fear !! Anxiety!! Get used to being uncomfortable!!
And remind urself that the sensation is always there ! And everyone notices from time to time!! Its us making a problem !! Just swalow if u need to and move on!! When u feel it and start thinking abt it all day!! That thinking process should stop! Put a reminder on ur phone every 10 mints! And see wheres ur focus! On thoughts / sensation! Excercise ur brain muscle to be flexible in shifting focus! On anything possible! Present moment! Nature! Books! Tv! With people! With the sounds near u! Exercise to focus on smtn else ! By time u have great benefits!

Mars

Hi, I have a breathing obsession. It is seriously affecting my life. Whenever I feel anxious, I try to breathe calmly (Is this an obsession?) Also, have you taken pills for recovery?

Jeenet

Hi Mars, has it got better? I am also going through this. I cannot breathe properly when i think of it.

Pavel

Hi.
I feel even worse than people with typical SOCD. Since I have awareness of my fingers or the fingers touching or something like that. It came originally from me needing to touch certain places or else “somebody close to me would die”. But then, later on, it just morphed into feeling this unpleasant sensation in or around my fingers instead. Sometimes it’s lips and tongue too. Is that too somatic OCD even if it’s not a bodily process? This whole question may be one giant compulsion lol, but all I see is people with breathing OCD or blinking one.

Jeenet

Hi, since one month i became concious about my breathing. Now i cannot remove my focus from it. I am unable to breathe properly whenever i think of it. Please help me. It has become very frustrating. I feel like crying everytime.

Shekinah

I have all of them, but the swallowing triggers me the most. I try to stop thinking about swallowing, but every second I remember it and I end up swallowing again. My throat hurts now and I don’t know what to do I can’t find peace will this end or something

Rosa

Hello. I have gone through therapy three times and I still have it. It is better but still here. I also have extreme anxiety seeing were I am in my life. I loved my life. This pandemic messed me up. What am I doing wrong? I still work from home like I always have. Should I be going out every day? Would that help me get back on track? I got a puppy to fill my life with something else other than work and obsessing. I don’t have children and I had to give the puppy away because she needed more love and attention than I could muster to give her as I am truly depressed about this. Where do I go no? I am so tired.

olivia

I have become intensely aware of my breathing lately and now, I try not to think about it or focus on something when I’m reminded of it, but often I can’t help but begin to panic as I’m afraid that I’m breathing too much and not enough, and I make myself dizzy trying to breathe normally. thanks for sharing. i do have ocd and i guess this is just yet another presentation. definitely makes it less scary to know it really is in my head in a way and that others relate

Autumn

I have swallowing OCD. Probably made worse by now having been diagnosed with it and doing tons of research. I have experience panic and anxiety for the past 7 years, but now for the last month this bout of OCD has popped up. At first I was hopeless and useless. I honestly can say that I wanted to die. I could not sleep, for my swallowing would wake me up.

I just wanted to know if anyone also starts to feel a “lump” sensation when they hold off from swallowing for a long time or even 30 seconds. The saliva, yes, does bother me. However, even when I am not salivating much and am not thinking about that aspect of it I get this sensation in my mouth and throat like I NEED to swallow. It’s like when you get anxious and you need to gulp. It’s certainly worse or can be when I’m around others and it’s quiet. My partner, who has suffered from OCD in the past, I notice swallows when I do which makes me insane with anxiety. I just want to know that I am not alone I suppose. If anyone has any advice or information on this I would be forever grateful.

Last edited 2 years ago by Autumn
Roman

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Roman

Hello, I am from Kazakhstan. (I’ll say right away I’m writing through a translator). I have been suffering from sensorimotor OCD for over 5 years. At first I got stuck on swallowing, then after a certain time on blinking, breathing, etc. Correction, it all started after a panic attack at the age of 15. Then, over time, the number of things I obsessed over increased. I began to get hung up on how I write, eat, talk, walk and much more. Over time, the tension grew, and he began to lose weight. Now I don’t understand how I’m talking, how this process happens. It’s terribly hard for me, I have to think over every word and understand the essence of every word. Does this apply to sensorimotor OCD as well? I have practically no money left, in Kazakhstan and Russia there are no experienced specialists who know how to treat this disease. All the time I fell for charlatans and only lost money and time. Over time, my condition has only worsened. please answer me. Can I chat with you about this?

James

Hi, I’m dealing with the breathing issue. It keeps me up when trying to sleep because I feel like my breathing will stop if I don’t control it. Even though I know it won’t. Any tips?

Mits Mits

Hi Aadil,

I think I have breathing OCD .

I focused on my breathing whenever i am ideal and the thought goes away when i am occupied with some work.

Especially during night when i try to sleep with no distractions like Mobile / books , i focus on my breathing . Its challenging for me to be ideal as i fear i will focus on my breath again.

Any tips to fight this ?

Levi

Hi Aadil,

Quick question…..So I’ve been practicing acceptance for about a month now and the anxiety has definitely gone down, but I’m noticing that even in moments with very little anxiety, my brain is still reminding me of my sensations over and over again and that’s what has been scaring me because it feels like its never going to go away. Did this happen to you at all when you started getting better?

minh chien

I have somatic ocd and many people advised me to learn the skill of letting go of control . and they say controlling the breath is compulsive behavior. but I can’t stop doing it. they advised me to give up. but how? is it possible. i know i will never find the right breathing pattern when i am suffering from ocd. so how to welcome it without interfering
I’m stuck on how to experience it. for example I see my nose when I talk. yeahhh it’s okay. but I don’t know when I talk my teeth touch or not. I don’t know the words that make my teeth touch. So how should I experience it? how it will be. I will try to talk without control (this is super hard). Or it would be: “Oh, I’m paying attention to how the mouth works. I don’t know what it usually looks like. I’m not going to find the answer. And so I’ll try to talk teeth touching (just whatever I choose) for a while I thought hmm I’m controlling my teeth so they don’t touch so now I’m going tove on to let them touch .it’s exciting !!!! “I find method 2 very good, but people say proactive control is compulsive behavior. they said I should not control but let the brain work on its own. what should I do

Noah

Yo

My name is Noah and for the longest time I thought I just had Anxiety induced swallowing but after reading this I can say I have sensorimotor OCD. I’ve had this problem for about 8 years now and it’s challenging just living regular life but I’ve gotten by. I live alone and work in a loud factory I limit my time with my family whom I love very much and usually decline to hang out with any work friends or other friends. While I don’t mind swallowing or thinking about it I cannot swallow in front of other people and that’s something I thought I would never over come, until reading this. I’m very interested in anyone else who has this problem and would like to normalize it by being around one another or if you’d just like to talk online.

My email shswhirled@gmail.com
Discord Blue Banquet#0802

AdnaArsalan

My problem started 10 years ago, suddenly got cured after joining a very stressful job .After quitting the job the problem started again I feel like I’m holding back my blinking, I always think that I am going blind Everyone asks why you are so upset and I can’t give any answer .Because of noticing everytime my eyes are always burning, because of it my smoking habit has been increased . How can I avoid it?

Tolgahan

Hey, are you still here Aadil?

Tolgahan

Hey nice to see you still here. 🙂 I have a question.

I have Somatic OCD since 2015 but now I have a big outbreak since 02. April 2023 and this time it started with the hyperawarness of my toes, then it went over to breathing, swallowing, blinking, body movements after I searched up online unfortunately… as you can see there are many of them… some are more present and some are less present. Sometime all of them leave me alone for several minutes. But is it „normal“ that there could be multiple topics at the same time.

I think your guide helped me a lot to reduce my anxiety until now and (thanks god and you of course ;)) I can lead my normal life more or less. I even fly to Turkey next week by myself. It’s definitely better than in the beginning. I think I’m on a good way towards recovery but still wanted to ask my question.

Thank you :))

Last edited 10 months ago by Tolgahan
Tolgahan

Thank you Aadil for taking your time to write me such a good answer!

Yes like you are writing above, in last time I catch myself how I literally want to go to exposing and triggering situation. I like the feeling afterwards, that I’ve mananged the situation. ☺️

I am doing everything I did before this acute SOCD outbreak. I think this helps a lot! Thank you again ☺️

erin sanders

i started noticing every single sensation in my body after my stepmom passed suddenly. i focus on breathing, heartbeat, little pinches inside, i feel i can feel my BP raising, every single function. It is so annoying and i want it to stop

Antony

Hello. I’ve been struggling with swallowing ocd for several years now, but this year it got worse. I have to swallow in a certain way, and when I don’t, my mind forces me to swallow again. The thing is that I’m trying not to repeat the swallowing, but everytime I try to hold it or distract myself with something, this very uncomfortable feeling in my throat arrives, it’s as if someone started pouring water into my mouth, my throat tightens, and there is nothing else I can do to relieve this feeling other than to swallow. So in the end I’m forced to swallow again. This uncomfortable feeling makes me more anxious and it’s like a vicious cycle. Is there anything that can be done about this?

Kishan

Hi, I was diagnosed with SOCD 2 months ago after a sudden onset of breathing symptoms (constantly felt like I wasn’t breathing deeply enough). After a thorough workup in the hospital, I was referred to a CBT therapist who diagnosed me with SOCD. I’ve been working with him for 2 months but still have the breathing symptoms (although a lot less now), and have also developed blinking and saliva symptoms. I’ve been practicing your methods of setting up daily reminders and conscious reminders. I generally have good days now when I’m busy, but when I’m bored/not working/have an idle mind, my symptoms are much more noticeable and my anxiety is quite bad.
My main question is how long did you have to practice doing the reminders before your anxiety (and hence your obsessions) completely went away? Is 2 months a long time, or does it take some people even longer to conquer this?
Thank you

Subhash acharya

Hello, i am suffering from swallowing ocd from past 6 months i fear to eat food because whenever i eat i give attention to it and do conscious swallow not automatic and my neck and swallowing muscles also becomes very tight at the time of eating i lost much weight i cant eat i cant focus on anything i cannot eat outside and because of conscious swallow i have sore throat also from 2 to 3 months please help me i feel like i have forgotten how to eat and swallow food normally i want to eat food ver much but i cannot please help me🥺😔😢😭😭😭

Christopher Thomas Weston

Hello Aadil

I have suffered from OCD, specifically, sensorimotor OCD. When I first found out it was OCD, it was very difficult to find anyone else who suffered similar symptoms. I finally found a therapist who suggested that traditional “ERP” treatment was not as effective as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for this subtype. Basically, we accept are just “people that think about their blinking” and continue to practice accepting it, even if we are thinking about it all day!! Many people have strange thoughts – this just happens to be ours. This helped me tremendously. In fact, while I don’t like to measure my OCD by how long I haven’t thought about my blinking, I will say that my mind is virtually free from any thoughts of this obsession and have decreased my symptoms by about 90%. This is not to say that I never did ERP, as I have found it very helpful, however, the acceptance was a huge boost to my
current remission.

I am now a licensed therapist in California and specialize in OCD. I thoroughly enjoyed your full synopsis of this subtype, as it appears you have spent many hours of research.

I am writing an article on sensorimotor OCD for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America at the present time, as there appears to be more sufferers of this than I was aware.

Thanks!

Christopher

Joe

Hello, I’ve been really struggling with sensorimotor OCD for about 2 years. My obsessions revolve around the eyes, the way that they feel and move, seeing my nose and a pulling/tingling sensation around the right temple area (never the left side). I went for an eye test earlier this year and they found nothing wrong. I do have glasses for a very minor prescription but the issue still persists when wearing them. I am 90% sure this is OCD but do keep wondering if maybe there is something physical.

This has been ruining my life and I can barely function anymore. Daily activities like reading and watching television are stressful. From the moment I wake up it just doesn’t ‘feel right’ and the obsessions start immediately. Any attempt at ERP or acceptance fails because the sensations are just so distracting I can’t help but do the compulsions.

I’m at my wit’s end at this point and don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t feel like a therapist would be much help in my case. Most people experience the breathing, blinking and swallowing obsessions but mine is so bizarre. I haven’t mentioned this to anyone except my parents who dont really understand. I just want to live life without these horrible obsessions.

Joe

Hi Aadil

Thanks for the reply. I have many compulsions which I wrote down. The main ones are covering my face/nose with my hand, opening and closing one eye at a time rapidly, massaging the temple area, tilting my head and tensing the muscles around one or both eyes until they feel ‘equal’. Some are less physical and not immediately obvious like avoiding certain activities or trying to figure it out in my mind. Sometimes I’ll be doing this without even realising for a while!

The annoying thing is I KNOW these are compulsions and that they don’t help the problem, but I do them anyway because of the distraction and discomfort. Anything that requires visual focus sets it off, like reading, television or looking at items in a shop. Just looking at things can make me hot and stressed.

I’ve been trying to accept the sensations as best as possible. Maybe I just need to be more persistent over several weeks not days. It’s tough to live like this but this guide has been very helpful and I’ll keep trying with ERP. The last thing I want is to give up!

Shiva

Hey ,i am having breathing ocd…i don’t have any anxiety or fear but i am unable to focus on my studies . whenever i read i am stopping my breath and it causing shallow breath which in turn causing acidity neck pain and backpain..and i am unable to involve in anyother work.please help me

Luna

Hi, thanks for this post.
I’ve only just realised that I’m possibly suffering from sensorimotor ocd around hearing tinnitus – especially in relation to sleeping. I’d never considered ocd until I came across a post about it a few days ago.
I’ve always had issues with obsessing over bodily sensations when I think about it, and one that suffered a few years ago was sleep – how it worked, how it felt to be asleep, analysing if I was asleep or awake, the sensations around sleep, trying to work out how to control sleep, convincing myself that I’d forgotten how to sleep and the health implications of that. I hated the awareness of being awake. I worked my way through that and made it back to baseline.
However recently I’ve had an onset of tinnitus and it has retriggered things massively, but this time I have the tinnitus too that is really scary to me. I have convinced myself that the tinnitus will mean I’ve forgotten how to sleep and any sounds I use at night (that are meant to be helpful) are stopping me from sleeping, and I hyperfixate on even the ‘relaxing’ sounds I hear until my heart is pounding and I’m in tears. I have a huge desire for silence that I am having a hard time letting go of. The anxiety is overwhelming and I am pretty sleep deprived. Sometimes when I take sleeping medication, I feel calm, shut everything out and can sleep. It’s like the sleeping medication removes the anxiety because I know I’ll sleep!
I know I have ‘rituals’ in some form or another to try and get rid of the anxiety around hearing the tinnitus and struggling with sleep. (I’m trying to work them out, the sleeping medication may be one, plus the amount of googling and reassurance I seek) because I do things that temporarily relieve the anxiety only for it to come flooding back at a later point. The future absolutely terrifies me.
Is this something that would count under sensorimotor/hyperawareness ocd?
I am seeking medical help for this because I know it’s very complex, thanks for your help!

Claire

Hello, I thought I’d reach out as a long shot that someone may have experienced similar feelings related to SOCD. I have been through an extremely stressful time with a toxic job and redundancy that brought on panic attacks. My anxiety really heightened and it triggered this awful awareness of existance and myself and then led to feeling trapped in my own body as I couldn’t escape the anxiety and uncomfortable feelings.

Recently it seems to have snow balled to some obsessive internal bodily thoughts related to feeling trapped and finding ways to escape and I guess, feel less trapped and in control. I started having obsessive thoughts over fixed things in my body like my nails and teeth and getting anxious I couldn’t like, remove them if I wanted to. But I know it is TOTALLY irrational thinking as I could if I wanted to and I am totally in control of my own body. I am very very self aware of my thought processes and how they have developed and also that I need to accept that its all normal and SOCD but I just thought I’d reach out and see if anyone could relate/ had similar feelings.

Thanks

Claire

Hi Aadil,

Thanks for the reply. So would you say these are normal feelings and come under the same principles? I’ve felt like I’m going mental at times like its totally not normal

C

Chris

Hey Aadil,

Thanks so much for the post, I’ve found it very helpful. I am currently suffering with Sensorimotor OCD and finding it very distressing.

In terms of the CBT side, getting your mind straight and challenging your problematic beliefs, how often should I do that? I just don’t want it to become compulsive or reassurance seeking, as it does seem to make me feel better in the moment.

Also I think I struggle with the challenge, to the “I can’t enjoy anything else while it’s there”. Saying that other people have got rid of the anxiety and that I won’t feel any anxiety. My brain then just says that if others have been able to, that doesn’t mean you will and that there isn’t a reason that because they have, that I’ll feel better.

But honestly thanks so much, it’s a really helpful and detailed a guide. .

Chris

Hey Aadil,

Thanks very much for the response and for the resources. This is the most helpful resource I’ve found on sensorimotor OCD.

I’ve noticed my anxiety reduce significantly and while I’m still struggling (breathing at the moment), I’m getting more confident that I will fully recover and get to the point where I feel no anxiety when I notice my breath or other sensations.

Thanks again,
Chris

Mel

I suffer from heart rate obsession. I check it probably 50 times a day. It’s become a real problem. I can’t exercise any more out of fear that my heart rate is too high. I have daily anxiety attacks due to this issue. It’s horrible.

Evan

I am suffering from the obsession of when the eye is blinking .I tried out the step of focusing more on obsession of blinking instead not focusing on it.but still my ocd is not cured