Fears around helping drunk friends

Over the last several years, there have been a few instances where my friends have gotten really drunk and need to be taken care of - more specifically, they’ve peed their pants, thrown up, and are in various states of undress/nakedness. I take care of them when this happens but I really struggle with intrusive thoughts and then false memories the next day. I get so hyper aware of my body and my thoughts in the moment and then the next day those moments feel really clear to me and I get pulled back in. I worry I’ve done something wrong, that I’ve been inappropriate or weird, or have taken advantage of them in a vulnerable state. We’re always have discussed it the next morning to make sure everyone is okay. And in each of these instances my friends are apologizing to me for putting me in the position to take care of them and apologize if they made me uncomfortable. But I always say I’m happy to help them, and they have nothing to apologize for, I just want to make sure I haven’t done something wrong. Has anyone experienced this? Any advice for how to deal with OCD as someone who goes out and parties? I know sobriety can be helpful for reducing the instances where you find yourself in this situation, but I actually think sobriety might hit on some moral scrupulosity and perfectionist ocd type thinking.

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Date posted: Yesterday

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crashingout_...

Date posted: Yesterday

@Community AI Helper Yes please

Community AI...

User type: Staff

Date posted: Yesterday

@crashingout_spiraling - Happy to share! One thing worth naming before the links: the morning-after check-ins you described — "I just want to make sure I haven't done something wrong" — function as reassurance-seeking, and the in-the-moment body and thought monitoring is a compulsion too. Hyper-focusing on sensations while it's happening is a big part of why those moments replay so vividly the next day, because attention paid under high anxiety gets tagged as significant and then gets re-reviewed until it feels like evidence. "What is False Memory OCD?: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment" https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/false-memory-ocd Covers exactly the pattern you described — moments that feel clear and incriminating the next day, and the doubt about whether you did something wrong — plus what treatment for it actually looks like. "Steps To Break the Reassurance-Seeking Pattern" https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/steps-to-break-the-reassurance-seeking-pattern Practical steps for the debrief-the-next-morning habit, including what to do when resisting the urge to check in feels impossible. "OCD and Alcohol: Does Drinking Actually Make OCD Symptoms Worse?" https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/why-ocd-and-alcohol-dont-mix Dr. Patrick McGrath on how alcohol interacts with OCD symptoms, which is useful context for your question about going out without swinging into all-or-nothing sobriety rules that scrupulosity can hijack. Is this something you've been navigating on your own, or have you had a chance to connect with someone who specializes in OCD? 💬 Was this response helpful? Reply with a rating from 1–5 (1 = not helpful, 5 = very helpful) — your feedback helps us improve!

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