- Date posted
- Yesterday
This social feed.
Does anyone else find it concerning that the social aspect of NOCD gives a platform for people with OCD that they can use to essentially Reassurance Seek? On one hand, creating communities and seeing other people struggle the same way you do can be incredibly helpful. It’s healing to know you aren’t alone, especially about the taboo subjects that OCD can latch onto. I’m aware of the positive impact that can have on people and against the stigmas they can place on themselves. I’m also aware that this is probably a safer place to have that compulsion to post, since there are therapists and bots ready to offer resources the moment they notice the behaviour. Also, that someone who is desperate would likely just move to a different, and less supportive site, to make their post anyway, and possibly be made to feel worse by those who don’t understand what OCD is actually like to experience. On the other hand though, I’ve seen others actively seeking reassurance through their posts on here and it feels like a moral dilemma if I wanted to respond in any way. I either give them the reassurance that they are seeking, feeding into the compulsion. Or I try and leave room for uncertainty, even though I’m not a therapist and am not trained/knowledgeable enough in ERP therapy to be helpful. I think it’s human to want to help others in distress, but it creates an inherent Catch 22. Regardless of all of that, I’m happy a safe place like this exists, I just worry about what cycles it could create when misused, and how easily it can be misused.