Re: Similar Question

there is a form of OCD called "Pure O" where the person doesn't have compulsions, but only obsessions. in spite of that, my guess is that the first poster here does NOT have OCD, mostly because of the time-lapse involved. an OCD compulsion follows pretty quickly after an OCD obsession/fear. the fact that it's days later when the distressing thoughts start, makes me hesitate to call it OCD.

however, i think OCD-type therapy could help. because whatever it is, it revolves around fear(s) and/or anxiety(ies), and the person isn't able to "let it go." probably a bit of ERP therapy and more of a focus on some sort of talk-based therapy would be helpful. for someone with OCD, it very likely might NOT be helpful to look closely at the root cause of the anxiety; but since you have no other OCD symptoms, this could be more a type of extreme self-doubt/self-hatred -- in which case, examining where those beliefs originate (and the repeating thoughts that come from them, i.e., "i'm stupid," "i never do anything right," "everyone hates me") could be very helpful/empowering.

i think almost everyone "replays" events and conversations, etc. it's a way to learn, for one thing. but if the replaying begins to interfere with our lives, or our self-image to a damaging degree, then i think it would be good to get some professional help to understand why we would focus so much on certain events. Tweet