lauraa

For those who deal with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, romantic relationships and meaningful friendships can be difficult to navigate without obsessions and compulsive behavior getting in the way. Among all the different types of OCD-related compulsive behavior, there are two that most frequently complicate relationships and keep people stuck. The compulsive behavior of confessing can create difficult relationship dynamics. Confessing is a compulsive behavior that comes up in many different OCD subtypes, but it is in the context of relationships where it is the most difficult to deal with. In OCD, confessing may fall into the OCD cycle, with obsessive thoughts being the desire to confess, confessing being the compulsion, and getting temporary relief from confessing, which starts the cycle over again, as it reinforces this negative cycle. The second behavior is ruminating, which often creates difficulties in relationships. It is important to keep in mind the difference between reminiscing and ruminating. Reminiscing is something done often in our daily lives when we think back throughout our day, interactions with others, our thoughts, actions, and behaviors. When done within reason and in a positive manner, without spending excessive amounts of time, this can actually be healthy. Reminiscing can actually help us grow in our relationships in many ways. However, according to Psychology.org, “Rumination involves repetitive thinking or dwelling on negative feelings and distress and their causes and consequences.” In relationships, ruminating can become unhealthy because we may find ourselves questioning our interactions with our partner in a manner of being critical of ourselves. This could be regarding what we may say or do, or how we think our partner perceives our thoughts, feelings, actions, and behaviors. We find ourselves trying to “mind-read” and understand how they feel about us to the point that it can disrupt our activities and [...]