Mental review

Repeat to yourself it’s just a thought or try doing maybe later

I also deal with this often . I have Pure O among other sub-types of OCD . One of my main things is excessive mental review . One helpful thought I think of is the main point of the Brain Lock book by Dr Schwartz . 1- recognize it is OCD 2 - a chemical imbalance 3 -do something else 4- doesn’t really matter . Two sub-steps 1- anticipate it will return 2- accept it . At times I will write the particular mental review items on a paper to help me mentally process of but overall this isn’t always helpful because I can write too much a novel , LOL and read over too much to make “ just right “ or update or correct .

My field heavily relied on refined analytical skills so my OCD is tangled up with my curiosity and skills. So my compulsions have practically free reign in my mind because I can't resist all of them. I don't have answers for you, cause I'm still trying to figure out balance myself. You're not alone in this though. Far from

one thing i notice is if it’s just thoughts that pop in, letting those pass and observing them is fine and encouraged with ocd. it’s when we start to attach meaning to those thoughts while we have them- that’s the trap. so if it’s reviewing a conversation, if you casually have memories about it and it passes through even in the form of intrusive thoughts, it’s best not to avoid those. once you start reviewing to answer a question (for example did i say the wrong thing here or did that person make a face while i said that) then it’s becoming a compulsion to answer and get rid of the discomfort from the thoughts. just noticing when you’re doing that and making a conscious effort to observe rather than judge the thought is an amazing step in the right direction!