Who Am I Protecting and What Can I Do About It?

I’m thinking about OCD rituals, and the many that I have performed in order to “Protect” someone. Thinking about this has helped me to go back in time and freeze my actions in my mind and dissect them. I’m thinking about exactly why I was performing them. Who was I “protecting,” and what was I “protecting” them from?

Think about the odds of what you are worrying about actually happening if you don’t perform the ritual. Challenge your actions. Realize that your ritual is a by-product of habit. You are conditioned to do this. The process has been embedded into your subconscious, and helped along by your brain chemistry.

If possible, sit down and list your ritual in detail. Then write the reason you are performing it. Then next to that list the degree of anxiety you feel and the probability of the event occurring.

TEST your rituals by beginning with the least powerful ritual and see what happens when you break it down this way. You may be surprised by the results!