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Checking work and answers repeatedly after finishing an exam


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I have pretty bad OCD when it comes to taking written exams. Like on a math test, after I finish my problem, i would double check to make sure I got the right answer. I double check many times before I move on to the next answer and not only do I double check my work, but let's say im checking something on a calculator, after I check it, I would punch it in the calculator again to recheck it to see if the same answer pops up in the calculator. I would do this until it feels like I'm sure I got the right answer.  And sometimes I even know the answer to a problem like 100 divide by 4 but I would still punch it in the calculator just to make sure it is 25.  Also, I would have doubts that the calculator might be malfunctioning so I perform various tests on the calculator such as 1 divide by 1 to see if it gets the right answer. I do this multiple times as well to make sure the calculator isn't malfunctioning .And after I finish all the problems, I skim through the whole entire test to see if I missed any problems and I have to skim through it multiple times until it feels "right" or until it feels like i'm certain I didn't miss any problems. And while skimming through the entire test, I would reread all the directions to the problems multiple times to make extra sure I'm following the right directions.  And then when I finally turn it in and leave the class, I start getting doubts of whether or not I read the directions on the test correctly and I start getting anxious that i might have not read the directions thoroughly or I might have missed something which would lead to me having wrong answers. 

I know these are compulsions and it's making my OCD worse but how can I only do the problem and check it once, move on to the next problem and check it once, repeat until I'm done with all of the problems on the test and then skim through the test once just to make sure I didn't miss anything, how do I do these normal checking behavior only once and be satisfied with it, without doing it multiple times? How do I feel satisfied from checking it only once? And when I already know the answer without having to do it on the calculator, I still punch it in the calculator to make sure it's the right answer even though I have a good feeling it's the right answer but I just want to make sure? Next time if I think I have the right answer should I just write it down without punching it in the calculator which leads me to punching it in the calculator multiple times until it feels right

 

 

Edited by contaminatedocd
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Hi there, sorry to hear what you’re going through. 

Can you do some mock papers at home, and allow yourself once to go over the papers once you’ve finished, but other than that just answer the questions one after the other, no checking and re checking? That way you will learn to trust yourself and deal with the anxiety, which at first will be high, but the more you practice, it will go down. Also can you try not testing the calculator, just trust it’s working fine? 

I had to do a similar thing set by my therapist as homework a few months back, by just locking our doors and not checking, re checking, tugging the handles or taking pictures to prove the door was locked. It was so hard at first (and I do still have off days but no where near as bad) but the anxiety did go down, and it did teach me I could trust myself. Hopefully if you can fit in some mock papers at home, this will help you to know you can just answer and not recheck, and have faith in yourself. If an answer is wrong though that happens to us all, we’re only human.

Hope you feel better soon x

 

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5 hours ago, contaminatedocd said:

how do I do these normal checking behavior only once and be satisfied with it, without doing it multiple times? How do I feel satisfied from checking it only once?

Hello ContaminatedOCD, 

I think your question although seemingly a simple thing, the answer is far greater I am afraid and is all about how we deal with and tackle OCD, by understanding those fundamentals then you can apply to this situation.  

But, that said to try and answer the question, it's actually something I said yesterday that maybe to overcome OCD we have to go from one extreme to another, in this case 1 check = 100 checks, so we perhaps need to get used to not checking at all, as hard as that is. It was discussed at length on this thread.

I truly believe to overcome the problem, checking just once is not the answer, but if you want to try and work towards that maybe limit each checking answer to 60 seconds then move on.

Ashley :)

 

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Hello ContaminatedOCD,

Sorry to hear what you're going through. I think from an OCD Point of View it's definitely best not to check at all but I think sometimes it's necessary to check your work - once. I can certainly not give an advice since I've the same problem. Maybe it's a help to visualize it, I mean to divide the exam in x tasks and then making a huge mental tick-off-sign (don't know the English word) behind point 1, 2, 3....after having them checked once and then move on no matter how stressful. My answer may OCD-wise be completely wrong but I really think there are tasks and things which require a check (one time).

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I've done some thinking on what Ashley wrote on the other thread about washing inly once and I've arrived at the conclusion that he is right. While reducing compulsions is a great way to get them under control, the ultimate goal should be no compulsions at all.

If the reasoning behind doing one check is to reduce the anxiety you feel then it is a compulsion and needs to be resisted.

Contaminated, are you getting any help for your OCD?

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I always thought checking once would be okay but from reading this thread/other threads and thinking back on my own personal experience, I have been checking for more years than I can remember and still do (not even nearly as severe now because my partner is around so I guess I'm hiding from it although I do struggle in work) and I think the fact I've thought one check is okay (then ended up checking more) has probably kept me in the situation I'm in.

So I guess maybe there is no happy medium for people like us, it's either obsess or refrain until refraining doesn't matter anymore. 

Edited by Headwreck
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By no means I want to "abuse" Contaminated's thread so I hope that the question is also helpful for him. How can you tell the difference if a one-time-check is a compulsion or a necessary thing required by the ask or at least recommendable to reduce the amount of mistakes??

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If you feel anxiety prior to checking and you want to do a check in order to reduce that anxiety, it's a compulsion and you can safely do without. What we're really saying here is that for someone with checking compulsions, basically all the checks are compulsions and should be stopped. All of them.

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Hey everyone thanks for the replies. The general answer seems to be to not check at all even at the risk of getting the wrong answer. Maybe that's the trade off to fully recover from this horrible condition. I think for me it's definitely true that checking once will have a domino effect that leads to many more checks.   Since my checking behavior is radical maybe i have to do something equally radical (not check at all) in order to cancel it out. I just think it would be nice to be able to at least check once and then feel good about it but after reading all the replies maybe that's not possible for me at this time. It could be possible to check only once and move on even though I feel an increase urge to check again but I feel like I'm not strong enough to get to that point yet. 

PolarBear  - i'm not getting any help for my OCD besides the help i'm getting from the members on this forum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Okay. The gold standard treatment for OCD is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which teaches you to think differently about the thoughts and to behave differently (primarily to stop your compulsions). It's something you should look into, if nothing else than to get a good self help book that teaches CBT. Break Free from OCD is a good one.

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