Repeatedly verifying that things are safe, correct or complete, such as checking locks, appliances, messages, or memories.
..where intrusive thoughts create intense doubt and fear—often centered around the possibility of causing harm, making a mistake, or being responsible for something bad happening. To manage this distress, you might feel compelled to check your past actions, even when there’s no obvious reason to do so.
Environments and themes readers experience with this compulsion:
Ways checking compulsions can manifest via common themes
Contamination
After touching a door handle in public, someone washes their hands but keeps looking at them repeatedly to check if they might still be contaminated. Even after leaving the bathroom, they return to look again because they worry they may have missed a spot.
Mental Contamination
After speaking with someone they find immoral, a person keeps mentally replaying the conversation to check whether the interaction somehow “tainted” them. They repeatedly check their thoughts and feelings to see if they still feel internally dirty.
Embarrassment
After sending a message in a group chat, someone repeatedly opens the conversation to check if they wrote something embarrassing. They reread the message over and over to make sure it does not sound awkward or offensive.
Guilt
After a conversation with a colleague, a person repeatedly reviews what they said to check if they accidentally offended them. Even hours later, they mentally replay the interaction to confirm they did nothing wrong.
Losing Things
While walking through town, someone repeatedly checks their pocket every few minutes to make sure their phone and wallet are still there. Even after confirming they are present, they feel the urge to check again.
Harm / Violence to Yourself or Others
At bedtime, someone may repeatedly check doors, windows and locks to ensure there’s no risk of home intruders overnight. This may involve checking all rooms, wardrobes and under the bed.
Health
After noticing a weird feeling in your chest, you repeatedly checks your pulse and breathing to see if something is wrong. You continually check for signs that something serious might be happening.
Relationships or Family Worries
After spending time with their partner, someone keeps checking their feelings to see if they truly love them. They may also reread past messages to look for signs that the relationship might be failing or not worthy.
Religion
While praying, a person worries they may have said something incorrectly. They repeat the prayer multiple times, checking mentally whether they performed it properly.
Existential Anxiety
Someone starts to question their own thoughts and begins checking whether reality feels real. They repeatedly question their perception of the world, trying to confirm that existence makes sense.
Sexual Acts
After hugging a friend, someone repeatedly replays the moment in their mind to check if the interaction could have been interpreted as sexual. They look for signs they might have crossed a boundary.
Sexual Orientation
While watching a film, someone keeps checking their reaction to different characters to see who they feel attracted to. They monitor their thoughts and body sensations to try to confirm their orientation.
Sensory / Sensorimotor
A person becomes aware of their breathing and starts repeatedly checking whether they are breathing normally. They keep focusing on each breath to make sure they are doing it correctly, and may panic that each breath is no longer ‘automatic’.
Staring Obsessions
Whilst in bed, someone repeatedly checks their phone to ensure that the alarm is set for work tomorrow. They stare at the icon to prove it is set and not just their imagination.
A Need to Feel “Just Right”
While arranging items on a desk, someone repeatedly adjusts them to check if they feel properly aligned. Even when they look fine, the person keeps checking because the feeling needs to be ‘just right’.
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