What Are Compulsions and Why Must You Know Them?
Compulsions are a hallmark of anxiety disorders and OCD but don’t think you’re lucky enough to be immune to them. In fact, we are all subject to them on some level -and it’s wise to know why.
What Are Compulsions?
Compulsions are the behaviors we carry out in order to make ourselves feel better; foreshadowed by an unmistakable craving that motivates us to do something. For someone with cleanliness OCD, this can look like the need to clean the house repeatedly, or for someone with harm OCD, it can look like the drive to continuously ask others to reassure them they aren’t the monster their invasive thoughts tell them they are.
How Can They Show Up In Your Life?
Whilst these are extreme examples that present themselves with mental disorders, as mentioned prior, we all have our own compulsions -whether we are aware of them, or not-. To you, this may look like the desperate need to text someone you know deep down isn’t into you, or the drive to go to the gym even though you’ve been every day this week and your body’s aching. It could look like the urge you have to drink, to people please, to stay in bed, to watch Netflix and procrastinate, to self-abandon, to lower boundaries.
