PolarBear

Louise, all these rules your mind creates are absolute nonsense.

Yes, effectively deal with your OCD.

Robin, I and everyone else here, with a few notable exceptions, KNOWS going to a Neurologist is a compulsion and it won't fix your actual problem. However, going to a doctor and doing something is infinitely better than sitting their frozen, ruminating like crazy and making yourself sick.

Howard, you hear but you do not listen. Robin has OCD. Her thinking and behavior of late is CLEAR evidence of OCD at work. Robin can go see a Neurologist, but that won't change the OCD. Robin will still have OCD, regardless what the doctor says.

Then do something about it! Quit ruminating, researching and posting on an OCD forum. Go see a doctor. Do something! Just be prepared to find out the visit does nothing to change the way you feel. Because you still have OCD.

You are wrong when you say Robin can get on with their life after talking to a Neurologist. Because Robin will continue to have OCD after the consultation. A major compulsion like going to a doctor is not going to change their thinking or behavior.

You are miscontruing what posters are saying. You could get dementia. So could I. Your near total obsession with the subject IS OCD. That you can think of nothing else IS OCD. That you have researched the matter to death IS OCD. That you are exhibiting all or nothing, fatalistic thinking about this IS OCD. That you went through the exact same thing with the smoke detector shows that this is OCD. None of us are neurologists. If you want to go see a Neurologist, go see one. Fair warning: nothing a Neurologist will say will positively affect your OCD, which you will continue to have, regardless what the doctor says. As for your fatalistic thinking, do you think all people should just give up when facing a medical condition? Should they give up when they simply believe they will get a medical condition, even when they have zero evidence they will?

My suggestion is do the thing you fear. Throw out the coat.

Chris, basically everything you've done about this these past 4 years were compulsions. And you're back here asking for reassurance. You've started many threads lately, all asking for reassurance and assistance in figuring this thing out. Do you realize that all these compulsions, done over 4 years, have done absolutely no good? You're no further ahead. Learn from that. It means doing more compulsions is not going to help.

The reason OCD flares is because you choose to pay attention to it. If it goes away, it's because you ignored it. Then at some point you decide to look at it again (give it attention) and down the rabbit hole you go.

Having pleasurable sensations does not make someone a pedophile.

"I've played that situation over and over..." There's your compulsion. You've been doing this for years but you haven't come up with a final answer. You are no better off today than you were when this started. I gotta ask you: do you think going over this in your head for a few more years is going to bring you a different result?

It just is. Look, obsessions are manifested in your brain -- the same place where all other thoughts and images are manifested. Really, why wouldn't they seem real?

What if? It is a pleasurable sensation. Move on. Don't dwell on it. It doesn't mean anything unless you give it meaning.

Any OCD therapist has heard it all before. And then some. You can't be arrested for thoughts. Breathe. Eat chocolate. Watch something funny on TV.

Because you're looking for certainty that you have OCD! You can't have it. So give up looking for it. Just go with you having OCD and treat it all as OCD.

Hey Chris. Remember when I told you that you were seeking reassurance? Here you are, right back at it. No answer is going to satisfy you. Your mind will just come up with another question and you'll be seeking more reassurance. Let it go. Treat it all as OCD. Happy New Year.

What you've described is reassurance seeking, a compulsion. It won't end until you stop it. OCD is very much about doubt. You get a piece of knowledge. You feel better. Soon doubt rises. You go back to reread or ask more questions. Round and round you go.

Chris, this is all OCD. Obsessions can be about anything. Anything. You're stuck on, yeah but can OCD be about this? So you ask tons of questions, on multiple threads. Seeking reassurance. Ruminating like crazy. All compulsions. You're trying to figure out something that doesn't need to be figured out. Let it go.

Maybe Google, How can I lower my anxiety?

Moving would be a huge compulsion. And pointless. Your house is not the problem. OCD is the problem. At the end of the day, if you move, you'll take your OCD with you.

It's all hogwash. An all powerful being sending you a sign by honking a horn? Don't you think it could be a little more precise? This is all nonsense made up in your mind. You are making it so much worse by doing endless compulsions, like praying, writing down a mantra and talking to so many people about this. Take some breaths, check your compulsions and get on with your life.

I responded well to meds. I took relaxation therapy. I took CBT and really practiced what they preach.

I've been on the forum for 9 years and I can honestly say I can't remember a single person saying hypnotherapy helped them (beyond learning to relax).

You really do need to reign in and stop your compulsions. The reason you feel so fatalistic is because you keep this topic on top of your mind by doing compulsions.