OBSESSIONS AND COMPULSIONS
When the Mind Tries to Solve What Can’t Be Controlled
Most people think of OCD as a problem of irrational thoughts or repetitive behaviours.
Intrusive thoughts.
Checking.
Reassurance seeking.
Mental rituals.
But at a deeper level, obsessions and compulsions are not random.
They are attempts to manage something that feels internally uncertain, threatening, or intolerable.
The Function: Why Obsessions Exist
The human mind is designed to anticipate risk.
We scan for:
Danger
Mistakes
Responsibility
What could go wrong
This is adaptive.
It helps us prepare, plan, and protect.
But this system becomes amplified when there is a heightened sensitivity to uncertainty and responsibility.
You might notice thoughts like:
What if I did something wrong?
What if I hurt someone?
What if I missed something important?
These thoughts are not the problem in themselves.
They are attempts by the mind to create certainty in situations where certainty isn’t fully possible.
Where It Becomes a Problem
Difficulties arise when the mind starts treating these thoughts as urgent problems that must be resolved.
Instead of passing through, the thought becomes sticky.
It demands attention.
It feels important.
And so you respond.
This is where compulsions begin:
Checking
Reassurance seeking
Repeating behaviours
Mental reviewing or analysing
Each compulsion serves a purpose:
→ Reduce anxiety
→ Create a sense of certainty
→ Prevent something bad from happening
And it works — briefly.
The Emotional Layer of OCD
Beneath obsessions and compulsions, there is often a strong emotional current.
Common underlying experiences include:
Anxiety about uncertainty
A heightened sense of responsibility
Fear of causing harm
Guilt, even without clear cause
In many cases, the thought itself isn’t what’s most distressing.
It’s what the thought means about you.
If I’m thinking this, does that say something about me?
Am I responsible for preventing harm?
Can I trust myself?
From a psychodynamic perspective, obsessions can function as a way of trying to contain or control internal tension, while compulsions attempt to discharge it.
The Cycle That Keeps It Going
Over time, a self-reinforcing loop develops:
An intrusive thought appears
It triggers anxiety, doubt, or guilt
You attempt to resolve it (compulsion)
Anxiety decreases temporarily
The brain learns: this thought is important
The thought returns more frequently
The key mechanism here is not the thought itself.
It’s the relationship to the thought.
The more you try to eliminate uncertainty, the more sensitive the system becomes to it.
What Therapy Looks Like
At a surface level, treatment often focuses on reducing compulsions and changing behavioural responses.
That can be helpful.
But for many people, it’s also important to understand:
What the thought is organising internally
How anxiety, guilt, or responsibility are being experienced
What makes uncertainty feel intolerable in the first place
Therapy may involve:
Slowing down the moment the thought appears
Noticing what is felt in the body and emotionally
Building capacity to tolerate uncertainty without immediate action
Exploring patterns of self-criticism and over-responsibility
Over time, this can shift the experience from:
→ I need to solve this immediately
to
→ I can notice this without needing to act on it
A Different Way to Understand OCD
Rather than asking:
“Why am I having these thoughts?”
A more useful question can be:
“What happens inside me when I don’t try to resolve them?”
Because often, the compulsions are not the problem.
They are the solution your mind has learned.
Final Note
Obsessions and compulsions can vary in how they show up, and this overview is general in nature. If you’re considering support, a thorough assessment and an individualised approach is important.
need support?
If you’ve read this far and something feels familiar — the intrusive thoughts, the doubt, the urge to check, fix, or be certain — that’s worth paying attention to.
Obsessions and compulsions can leave you feeling stuck in your own mind, caught between knowing something doesn’t quite make sense and still feeling like you have to act on it. You might notice a tendency to question yourself, to seek certainty, or to take on responsibility for things that feel difficult to fully control. That often becomes part of the pattern, not the solution.
But this isn’t about thinking harder or finding the “right” answer.
There’s usually something happening underneath the surface — anxiety, doubt, or a sense of responsibility that makes uncertainty hard to tolerate. When that isn’t understood, the cycle tends to repeat, even when you try to resist it.
You don’t have to keep navigating that on your own.
Therapy offers a space to slow this down and make sense of what’s happening in real time — so that thoughts can be experienced without needing to immediately act on them. If you’d like to talk through what you’ve been experiencing and see whether we might be a good fit to work together, I offer a free 15 minute intake call.
It’s simply a starting point. No pressure, no commitment. Just a conversation.
