Checking OCD: Symptom & Subtype Explained
People with checking OCD tend to fear that something terrible may happen to themselves or others if they don’t check. These fears (obsessions) trigger an intense feeling of anxiety and uncertainty that can be incredibly distressing.
In an attempt to navigate this uncertainty, they engage in ritualistic checking behaviors (compulsions) in the hope to regain a sense of certainty over the situation.
What you may not know, is that checking and OCD are sort of like inseparable siblings.
Where one goes, the other often follows. It’s often a two-for-one. But checking can be both a symptom and a subtype.
Before we dive into that, let’s have a quick recap of the fundamentals of understanding OCD.
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OCD: A Recap
OCD, or obsessive-compulsive disorder, is a fairly common mental health condition that affects up to 2% of the population.
While that percentage may seem small, when you translate that into numbers we’re looking at approximately 154 million people at any one time. It certainly puts things into perspective.
Two key components maintain the OCD cycle: obsessions and compulsions.
Obsessions arise in the form of unwanted thoughts, images, urges, sensations or feelings. For the OCD sufferer, these aren’t simply niggling little thoughts that cause fleeting moments of discomfort.
They are a source of great fear which is born from a feeling of uncertainty.
(You may also hear OCD being called the ‘uncertainty disorder’ and this is the reason why)
The overwhelming fear, uncertainty, and discomfort following those obsessions is what prompts us to engage in compulsive behaviors (mental compulsions or physical compulsions).
Compulsions are the repetitive and ritualistic behaviors that we perform in order to gain some temporary relief. To an onlooker, these compulsions may appear like minor inconveniences (that’s if they notice them at all, as mental compulsions are invisible to observers). But they can greatly impact the quality of someone’s life.
This is why the conversation around OCD needs to continue; so we can keep raising awareness and understanding of this debilitating disorder.
Understanding Checking OCD
As mentioned above, checking OCD is both a symptom of various subtypes and a subtype of its own.
So let’s break this down a little further…
A symptom and a subtype
As you may have guessed, checking OCD does what it says on the tin.
OCD sufferers with checking OCD engage in checking-like compulsions often governed by the fear of what might happen if they don’t check. The potential consequence of not checking sparks the need to keep checking over and over again.
As a symptom, it can present itself in various ways depending on the subtype.
For example, a typical and well-known OCD subtype is contamination OCD (where the sufferer obsesses over worries of contracting an illness or spreading germs). In this instance, they may keep checking themselves for signs of dirt, germs, or contaminants. They may check their children. They may constantly check their hands. Or check the cleanliness of the worktops.
Likewise, someone with relationship OCD may be concerned about saying the wrong thing to their partner – something that they believe might cause them to leave.
They may repeatedly check over messages they’ve sent, or check their partner’s phone for any signs that their obsession may be correct.
As a subtype in its own right, checking OCD looks different for each individual.
Sufferers can find themselves fixated on the particular content of their obsessions but checking OCD tends to jump from one context to another.
For example, someone may fear their doors being left unlocked in case someone comes in during the night. Because of this, they keep checking the door is locked over and over again. They may find a way to navigate this by installing a security system that connects to their phone.
However, this does not address the obsessions or the compulsions in an effective way.
The OCD just finds new content to work with. Now it may be checking that the oven has been turned off.
Why do I feel the need to keep checking?
It is always anchored in fear of the consequences of what might happen if they don’t check; in fear of things they cannot necessarily control or are not necessarily grounded in logic.
In checking OCD, the sufferer is always trying to manage the uncertainty of ‘what might happen’ if they don’t do X, Y, or Z even though it can sometimes be illogical to keep checking.
For example, after checking that the oven is off three times it becomes illogical to keep checking. On a conscious level, we know the oven is off. But on a subconscious level, we cannot stop checking because the fear of what might happen if it were in fact still left on, is too overpowering.
Examples of checking within different subtypes
Here are a few more examples of how checking may appear as a symptom within various subtypes.
Relationship OCD: It is not uncommon for people with relationship OCD to check themselves for emotions or feelings of love. Or they may check their partner’s facial expressions or body language to confirm that they are having a good time, for example.
Harm OCD: Someone with harm OCD may feel the need to check in on their loved ones to ‘make sure they are safe’. They may feel the need to keep checking the tires on their car or that they don’t have any sharp objects in the house.
Religious/Scrupilocity OCD: Someone with this subtype may engage in checking behaviors to prove or reassure themselves that they are devoted to their religion. They may keep checking that their religious text is on their shelf or check they are still wearing their necklace that is symbolic of their religion. They may also check that they still remember a particular prayer, for example.
Pedophilia OCD: For this subtype, someone may feel the need to check that they aren’t responding in an inappropriate way toward children. They may check their genital region (for any signs of a groinal response) for example.
Contamination OCD: In contamination OCD, the sufferer may check themselves or others for signs of being unclean. They may also constantly check the surfaces of their home.
Just Right OCD: Just right OCD is a fine example of how OCD and checking go hand in hand. In just right OCD, the sufferer feels compelled to do something until it feels ‘just so’. Within this context, they may find themselves constantly checking that things are complete and feel ‘just right’, searching for a feeling of ‘rightness’.
Sexual Orientation OCD: In this case, someone of heterosexual persuasion may fear having feelings for other men. This person may engage in compulsions such as watching straight pornography and checking to make sure he likes it or watching homosexual pornography while checking to make sure he doesn’t like it, for example.
This type of checking can apply to people of any gender or sexual orientation.
For example, a homosexual female may watch pornography of two women together and check to make sure they like it. Or, they may watch heterosexual pornography (or even male homosexual pornography) to confirm that they are not attracted to men.
Common checking obsessions
What may appear tricky about checking OCD is that the obsessions could apply to many different types of content.
Whereas other subtypes are more specific to certain contexts, checking OCD comes from broader fear of what might happen to themselves or others.
Because of this, people with checking OCD could have an array of varying intrusive thoughts:
What if someone burgles us in the night?
What if my child chokes on his food?
What if I sent an inappropriate message to my brother-in-law?
What if the house burns down when I’m asleep?
These fears are not surface-level worries. There’s a deep-rooted sense of angst about what may happen in the absence of checking. The fear is attached to the consequences of inaction and the uncertainty that it conjures up if we decide not to check.
Common checking obsessions include:
- Fear that the house will burn down if we leave an electrical appliance on
- Fear that someone will break in if we don’t lock the doors
- Fear of doing something that isn’t perfect (like submitting a work proposal with incorrect grammar)
- Fear of children coming to harm due to a lack of attentiveness
- Fear of breaking down on the motorway
- Fear of driving and hitting someone
- Fear of acting in a shameful or humiliating way
Common checking compulsions
As discussed, OCD is considered the ‘uncertainty’ disorder. When obsessions like those above pop up, it is the uncertainty about what might happen if we don’t check that causes the overwhelming desire to perform compulsions.
In all aspects of life, we cannot hope to gain 100% certainty.
And oftentimes – not always – these checking compulsions are as illogical as the obsessions themselves. But they offer the sufferer a small sense of control. There is a notion that if we just check one more time, I can be certain that things will be alright.
Yet those compulsions then fuel the OCD cycle and there is always a need to keep checking (until we learn to tolerate the uncertainty that inevitably comes with not checking).
Common checking compulsions include:
- Checking on children to make sure they are clean
- Checking on newborns to make sure they are breathing
- Checking the oven is off
- Checking electrical devices are off and safe
- Checking the plug sockets are off
- Checking the worktops are clean
- Checking the lights are off
- Checking the doors are locked
- Checking the car tires are fully inflated
- Checking the windows are shut
- Checking over professional documents for errors
- Checking that sentimental items are in their proper place.
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Signs and symptoms of checking OCD
Below are some potential signs and symptoms of checking OCD.
Disclaimer: You may notice some of these signs but it does not necessarily mean you have OCD. This is not a diagnosis. If you are experiencing any of these to a degree where it is negatively impacting your life then please talk to a qualified mental health professional.
1. Safety concerns
If you notice you have persistent and relentless worries over safety concerns surrounding you or loved ones, this could be a sign or symptom.
It may appear in the form of ‘what if’ intrusive thoughts or images:
What if my child gets ill from playing outside.
What if I hit someone while I’m driving.
What if I cut myself on the kitchen knife.
We all have safety concerns, and to feel safe is one of our core human desires. To feel safe ourselves and to feel that our loved ones are safe.
However, if these safety concerns are taking up a large portion of your day, it could be a sign or symptom of checking OCD.
2. Health concerns
One way checking OCD can appear is within the context of our health.
Someone may find themselves constantly checking their body for any signs of illness, for example. They may be checking to see if they notice any changes that might be of concern.
Much like safety concerns, we all should be diligent about our mental and physical health.
However, if you find that these health concerns are becoming a daily and all-consuming worry, then it could be a sign or symptom of checking OCD.
3. Mistake concerns
This is quite different from being a perfectionist.
There are many high-achievers and type-A personalities who are critical of mistakes and do their utmost to avoid them.
However, if the possibility of making mistakes has you trapped in a cycle of relentless rumination and you feel the need to keep checking to make sure things are perfect, this could be a sign or symptom of checking OCD.
4. Inappropriate behavior concerns
If you notice you have concerns about engaging in inappropriate behavior – or others engaging in inappropriate behavior with you – you may find yourself checking that you are behaving in an appropriate manner.
For particular subtypes such as pedophilia OCD or sexual orientation OCD, the groinal response is often an unwanted sensation that has the sufferer wondering what it must mean about them as a person in relation to its context.
In this instance, they may find themselves checking themselves ‘down there’ to make sure they are not responding in a way they deem inappropriate.
5. Reassurance seeking
In this instance, checking takes the form of seeking reassurance from others that everything is safe and okay.
You may find yourself checking that what you think happened, actually happened.
You may want reassurance about a health concern and keep checking in with your doctor.
You may keep checking that your partner still loves you.
Again, it’s a very natural and common desire to seek reassurance from others to confirm our beliefs or dispel our doubts.
But, if you notice that checking with others is becoming something you ‘need’ to do and that you don’t feel able to comfortably move on without it, it could be a sign or symptom of checking OCD.
Causes of Checking OCD
First things first, there is still no definitive proof of what actually causes OCD. And this applies to all subtypes.
All of the data we have up to this point simply shows that the onset of OCD is usually triggered by a multitude of psychological, environmental, and biological factors. While there are studies to suggest that there are hereditary factors involved in the development of OCD, the root cause is still to be uncovered.
What we can take into account, however, is a selection of dysfunctional beliefs that are typically found in OCD sufferers.
Dysfunctional beliefs are categorized as unhelpful thought patterns that give OCD thoughts their influence.
1. Hyper responsibility
Hyper responsibility is when you take on an excessive amount of responsibility for things that are realistically beyond your control.
You may take on responsibility for things such as other people’s behaviors or feelings. You may also feel responsible for the outcome of an unfortunate event such as a car crash or your company losing a big deal.
With hyper-responsibility comes a great deal of guilt.
In checking OCD, a proneness to feelings of guilt over ‘not taking control’ or at least trying to ‘mitigate all risk’ is what leads to the compulsion to check things over and over again.
2. Thought Action Fusion
Thought action fusion (TAF) is the belief that thoughts and actions are inextricably linked.
What this means is that thoughts are believed to be just as morally acceptable or unacceptable as our actions. And the belief for those with thought-action fusion is that if we think a ‘bad’ thought, it’s as morally wrong as doing the ‘bad’ action.
Also, there is a strongly held belief that thinking a ‘bad’ thought will inevitably lead to doing the ‘bad’ action.
For example, someone might think that if they think about kissing someone other than their partner, then they are more likely to actually kiss someone other than their partner.
OCD sufferers give more weight and validity to their thoughts, they apply greater meaning to them. And because they give their thoughts so much power to influence, they believe having such thoughts increases the likelihood of them acting on them.
3. Trying to control thoughts
One of the most common questions OCD sufferers have is ‘How do I stop these intrusive thoughts?’
For all humans alike, thought stopping (or thought suppression) only gives those thoughts more of our attention and signals to the brain that these thoughts are a cause of distress (which is what then triggers our anxiety).
Our anxious response awakens to try and protect us from the thought.
In trying to control our thoughts, we are unknowingly continuing the cycle of OCD. The more attention we give them, the more they stick around. And by trying to control them or stop them, we are giving them the very attention they need to thrive.
In the case of checking OCD, it can also lead to checking to see whether or not we have stopped checking.
Checking that we are not thinking those thoughts that we ‘shouldn’t’ be thinking. And so, the cycle continues.
4. Catastrophising
Have you ever had one of those moments where you imagine something going horribly wrong only for it to turn out nowhere near as bad as what you thought it would be?
This is a rudimentary insight into catastrophic thinking.
For someone with OCD, those intrusive thoughts can get very loud and very worrisome.
Someone prone to this thinking behavior imagines the worst possible outcome for each scenario and in the case of checking OCD, the aim here is to try and avoid it at all costs.
So they repeatedly check over and over again to ‘make sure’ and gain certainty that they have done everything they possibly can to avoid that outcome.
5. Perfectionism
Perfectionism in and of itself is something that a large portion of the population lives with. Studies have shown that the prevalence of perfectionism among young adults is increasing year after year for a variety of reasons.
Whilst having this particular trait does not mean that someone has OCD, it is a common trait among OCD sufferers.
Perfectionists typically have incredibly high – and often unattainable – personal standards and are overly self-critical. As you can imagine, in the case of OCD, the lack of certainty over whether things have been done ‘right’ can be a cause for constant checking.
6. Strong need for certainty
Ultimately, OCD thrives on our fear of uncertainty.
And so, it is no surprise that in all OCD sufferers the need for certainty is high and their tolerance for uncertainty is low.
The key to managing any OCD subtype lies in being able to sit and tolerate that uncertainty.
Misconceptions about Checking OCD
There are so many common misconceptions about OCD (and we are determined to rectify them through education and awareness).
Those with Symmetry OCD get labeled neat freaks.
Those with Contamination OCD get labeled clean freaks.
It diminishes the struggle OCD sufferers live through and can make them feel as though their struggles are invalid. Or even worse ‘that they must be going crazy’ or are ‘overreacting’.
So let’s bust some common misconceptions about checking OCD.
- People with checking OCD are conscientious
Much like the examples above, people with checking OCD often get mistaken for someone who is simply conscientious and particular. To some who may appear careless, it may even be a ‘trait’ to admire.
While it is true that people with checking OCD may be conscientious, is it not because of a desire to do a task well or thoroughly to achieve a sense of pride or satisfaction… It is out of fear of what might happen if they don’t perform these tasks conscientiously.
- People with checking OCD are just worriers
It may be easy for people who don’t understand to joke that people with checking OCD are just ‘worriers’ and need to ‘relax’.
Of course, it is true that people with OCD are worriers. They worry about the lack of uncertainty and that feeling of not being in control.
But everyone worries to some degree.
Yet in OCD it’s the difference between wondering if you left your iron on and wondering whether the house will burn down, you will lose everything you have, and you’ll have to find somewhere else to live because you may have left the iron on.
- People with checking OCD must be forgetful
In the case of checking OCD, it is not that the individual does in fact forget. The worry can develop due to the fear of what may happen if they do forget.
This is why checking OCD as a subtype can be very illogical. On a conscious level, sufferers may have checked that the oven is off or that the tops are clean a number of times and still worry that somehow, the oven still isn’t off and the tops still aren’t clean.
Forgetfulness is not needed to cause the worry that drives checking OCD.
How do I stop compulsively checking? Treatment for checking OCD
So, how do you resist the urge to stop checking and manage the fear of uncertainty?
Well, the answer remains the same for all OCD subtypes, and checking OCD is no different.
Let’s start with the gold-standard treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder…
1. ERP and CBT
ERP (exposure response prevention) is a form of CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy).
ERP is the most effective treatment for managing OCD. The idea behind it is that in order to become comfortable with uncertainty and learn to resist the urge to perform compulsions, we must actually expose ourselves to the obsession.
Only by exposing ourselves to the very thing that causes us anxiety, uncertainty, and discomfort can we teach our brains that we are capable of navigating it without the compulsion.
In checking OCD this might look like purposefully driving your car to the local shops without checking the tires first.
It might look like allowing the uncertainty of whether a cold is just a cold, and resisting the urge to check your symptoms on Google.
In CBT, we also address the obsessions and look to change our relationship and response to them. As mentioned above, OCD sufferers apply a lot of meaning to their thoughts. Having what may be considered a ‘bad’ thought is not the same as doing a ‘bad’ thing.
2. 1:1 therapy
There is no quick or easy path to recovery. But working with a qualified mental health professional will make the process easier and quicker than if you were to go it alone.
If you are concerned about whether or not you might have checking OCD, speak to your mental health professional so they can walk you through the correct diagnostic process.
If you are based in California, our team of friendly and highly trained clinicians are here to help you in a private setting. Following Kimberley Quinlan’s treatment plan, each member of our team has the expert knowledge and expertise to support you in your OCD recovery and they work under Kimberley’s supervision.
Appointments can be held in person or online at your convenience.
Click HERE or follow the link at the bottom of the page to submit an application, and we can have a relaxed conversation about how best we can support you.
3. ERP SCHOOL – A self-study program
For those who do not have access to private therapy, there are self-paced programs by qualified specialists that can guide you through your own recovery.
ERP School has been created for people who do not have 1:1 therapy as an option.
It is a self-paced program designed by Kimberley Quinlan, where you will learn tools and techniques that you can apply to your specific obsessions and your specific compulsions so that you can stop letting intrusive thoughts control your life and resist the urge to do compulsions.
4. Support groups
Last but not least, there’s nothing quite like surrounding yourself with people who truly understand what you’re going through.
You may have a wonderful team of loved ones who are there cheering you on, but there’s something special about talking about your experiences with someone who is living/has lived through it themselves.
Support groups are a fantastic way of being part of a network of people who truly understand. Having them in your corner can do wonders for the recovery process and shows you that you are not alone in this struggle.
The IOCDF has an extensive directory of support groups across the United States.
You can search the directory here to find the one closest to you.
