In the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), compulsions, including reassurance-seeking compulsions, should always be eliminated. However, it can be confusing to distinguish between reassurance-seeking compulsions and information-seeking questions and behaviors. So how can you tell the difference? Let’s analyze some important points that differentiate these two concepts.
Curiosity
Information seeking, which is a process of gathering information or knowledge, comes from a place of curiosity. People try to obtain information out of curiosity or interest, such as:
- You’re curious about the agenda for your upcoming board meeting, so you email your colleague.
- You want to take your partner out on a date this weekend and Google new restaurant ideas.
- You check Netflix to see if your favorite show has released new episodes yet.
- You’re planning a family vacation but you’re curious about possible destinations, so you ask some friends.
Compulsions, including reassurance-seeking compulsions, are driven by anxiety as a result of being absorbed by an obsession.
Unknown information
Compulsions that seek reassurance often seek an answer that we already know.
- You ask your doctor “Do I have cancer?” even though they have already I told him his blood work is normal.
- You ask your partner “Do you love me?” even though they have already said yes’.
- You Google “Signs I’m a Killer” even though already I know you’re not.
This differs from searching for information, where we don’t have the information yet:
- Look up the nutritional information for your food.
- The doctor informing you of the side effects of a new medication.
- Checking the weather app to find out today’s weather.
asking once
Calm-seeking compulsions are repetitive rituals, meaning they are performed multiple times. This is compared to searching for information which is usually done only once. An exception is if you forget information, need clarification, or may need to gather additional information for an ongoing question or project.
- Look up once What was the right temperature to cook a roast.
- I asked my son’s pediatrician. once How many milligrams of medicine to give for fever?
- I asked my spouse once if you enjoyed your surprise birthday party.
However, reassurance-seeking compulsions never occur once. Compulsions beget more compulsions because doubt begets more doubts. You think you’ll only ask once, but OCD leads you to ask over and over again.
Values
Finally, the search for information is driven by our values. You really want to have this behavior as it aligns with how you want to live your life. Unlike the function of our compulsions which is to make anxiety go away; This is generally not a value. If you’re not sure, ask yourself: ‘If anxiety or OCD didn’t exist, would I still be doing this right now?’ If not, it is most likely not a value. Rather, it is probably driven by anxiety.
To learn more about reassurance-seeking compulsions, including all the sneaky ways they can occur and recommended treatments, The Compulsive Tranquility Seeking Workbook It is now available.
