As you walk away from your checking urges, you’ll notice thoughts about what could go wrong as a
result of your not checking. Try agreeing with and embellishing those thoughts with things like, Yep, gonna get a $50,000 water bill, because I didn’t retighten the shower today, or Right now a group of thugs is rummaging through my underwear drawer, because I didn’t properly lock the front door. Be flippant with OCD instead of defensive. Headlines are a good technique to use here too:
“Neighborhood Mourns Loss of Local Church Ruined by Fire: Last Person to Leave Could Have Checked Outlets but Chose Not To.”
What will I fail to check one day?
Where will I be when I find out that my failure to check resulted in a catastrophe?
What is the catastrophe (make it intense), and how will my body react to the news?
What does this say about my level of competence and about me as a person overall?
How will I cope with the awareness that my failure to check caused a tragedy?
How will I cope with never forgetting this fact?
What will others think when they discover that the catastrophe could have been prevented?
How will my mental health deteriorate from this point, rendering me incapable of functioning?
Trigger What set you off? >>> Thought about the stove while going to bed.
Automatic Thought What is the OCD saying? >>>> I probably thought about the stove because I left it on. I have to go downstairs and check to make sure it’s off, or else the house may burn down while I sleep.
Challenge What is an alternative to the distorted thinking? >>>
I don’t know why the stove popped into my head, although the things I obsess about are likely to occur to me just before I prepare to go unconscious for the night! I don’t know for sure that the stove is off, but in my experience, I have no reason to leave it on after cooking. I would prefer that no fire happened, but checking won’t guarantee anything either. I’ll have to take the risk that this is just a thought and lie here until I fall asleep
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