How to stop OCD Mental Compulsions (with Lauren Rosen) | Ep. 465

In this episode, Kimberley Quinlan and OCD specialist Lauren Rosen break down exactly how mental compulsions work—and teach a practical, step-by-step way to stop engaging with them so you can get your time, presence, and joy back.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How to tell the difference between an intrusive thought (obsession) and the mental compulsion that quietly follows it
• The most common types of mental compulsions (like rumination, mental checking, reviewing, and “figuring it out”) and how to spot yours in real time
• The 3-step process to interrupt mental compulsions: notice → drop into the feeling → shift attention to what matters
• Why trying to “solve” your thoughts keeps OCD sticky—and what to do instead when your brain insists, “This must mean something…”
• How to practice being present (even when the thoughts are still there), without turning “doing it right” into another compulsion
• Gentle, realistic support for when you feel exhausted, frustrated, or like you’re failing—and how to keep going anyway

How to Stop Mental Compulsions in OCD (And Get Your Life Back)

Mental compulsions are one of the most exhausting and misunderstood parts of OCD. They don’t look like rituals. They don’t show up on the outside. And for a long time, many people didn’t even realize they were compulsions.

In this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, Kimberley Quinlan sits down with OCD specialist Lauren Rosen to break down exactly how mental compulsions work—and how to stop engaging with them.

This conversation walks step-by-step through the entire process, from identifying mental compulsions to learning how to disengage from them in real life—while parenting, practicing faith, and living meaningfully.

If your mind feels like it’s running nonstop, this guide is for you.

What Are Mental Compulsions?

Mental compulsions are internal behaviors done to reduce anxiety, guilt, fear, or doubt caused by an intrusive thought.

Just like physical compulsions, mental compulsions:

• Are driven by fear
• Aim to create certainty or relief
• Keep OCD alive in the long run

Common mental compulsions include:

• Rumination
• Worrying
• Mental reviewing
• Mental checking
• Mental rehearsal
• Mental tracking
• Reassuring yourself internally

Lauren explains it simply:

If you’re engaging in active thinking to try to feel better or safer, it’s likely a mental compulsion.

You don’t need to perfectly label which one you’re doing. The function matters more than the category.

 

Why Mental Compulsions Are So Hard to Spot

Most people don’t realize:

• Where obsessions end
• And where mental compulsions begin

People often say:

• “I can’t stop obsessing”
• “I’m thinking about this all day”
• “My mind won’t let this go”

But very often, that “obsessing” is actually ongoing mental compulsions happening automatically.

 

Two Common OCD Examples

Example 1: Harm OCD

Jennifer wakes up with the thought:

“What if I harm my baby?”

She loves her child deeply, which makes the thought terrifying.

Her mental compulsions may include:

• Mentally debating whether she’s capable of harm
• Checking her emotions to see what they “mean”
• Replaying the thought to analyze it
• Seeking certainty about the future

 

Example 2: Scrupulosity (Religious OCD)

Jonathan has the thought:

“What if I prayed wrong this morning?”

His faith is deeply important to him.

His mental compulsions may include:

• Mentally replaying prayers
• Repeating prayers until they feel “right”
• Mentally apologizing or correcting the thought
• Seeking internal reassurance that he’s “okay”

 

The Core Problem: Trying to Solve the Unsolvable

A huge sticking point for both Jennifer and Jonathan is this belief:

“This thought must mean something.”

Lauren explains one of the most important foundations of OCD treatment:

Thoughts are not inherently meaningful.

Humans have:

• Intrusive thoughts
• Strange thoughts
• Disturbing thoughts
• Unwanted thoughts

Trying to prove what a thought means turns into a mental compulsion itself.

 

Step 1: Build Non-Judgmental Awareness

Awareness is the first step, but not the perfectionistic kind.

You’re not trying to:

• Catch every mental compulsion
• Stop them instantly
• Do this “right”

Instead, you’re practicing noticing:

“Oh—my mind is trying to solve this again.”

Without:

• Criticism
• Panic
• Self-blame

Lauren emphasizes:

The goal is not to eliminate mental compulsions completely. That would just become another obsession.

 

Step 2: Drop Out of Thinking and Into Feeling

Mental compulsions are fueled by emotional avoidance.

When we refuse to feel:

• Anxiety
• Guilt
• Uncertainty
• Fear

…the mind jumps in to “fix” it with thinking.

The work here is learning to gently shift from:

• “What does this mean?”
  to
• “What am I feeling in my body right now?”

This might include noticing:

• Tightness in the chest
• A racing heart
• A knot in the stomach
• Pressure in the jaw or throat

Lauren reminds us:

Emotions, when not fed by thinking, naturally rise and fall.

 

Why Resisting Anxiety Makes It Worse

When we brace against anxiety:

• We tense
• We tighten
• We amplify the sensation

Acceptance doesn’t mean liking anxiety.
It means not adding extra suffering on top of it.

 

Step 3: Shift Attention Toward What Matters

This is where many people worry:

“Am I avoiding the thought?”

No—because acceptance came first.

Shifting attention means:

• Letting thoughts and feelings be present
• While intentionally re-engaging with life

This might mean:

• Playing with your baby
• Saying your prayer once and moving on
• Returning to work, conversation, or connection

This is response prevention in real life.

“But I’m Still Aware of the Thoughts”

This is incredibly common.

Being present does not mean:

• Your mind goes quiet
• The thoughts disappear
• Anxiety vanishes

It means:

• Expanding your awareness to include both discomfort and meaning
• Making space for joy alongside fear

Lauren beautifully references No Mud, No Lotus:

Happiness cannot exist without suffering.

 

When You’re Exhausted and Angry at OCD

Jonathan voices something many people feel:

“I’m already exhausted. This feels unfair.”

Lauren points out another sneaky mental habit:

• Wishing reality were different
• Comparing your life to a fantasy version
• Mentally rehearsing how things “should” be

These mental behaviors:

• Increase suffering
• Drain energy
• Pull you further from the present

Letting go of them is not giving up—it’s reclaiming your life.

 

This Is a Skill for Life (Not Just OCD)

Learning to disengage from mental compulsions builds:

• Emotional flexibility
• Focus
• Presence
• Resilience

Lauren shares that these skills helped her navigate profound personal loss—not by eliminating pain, but by preventing unnecessary suffering.

 

Tools That Support This Work

Lauren strongly recommends:

• Mindfulness practices (especially focused-attention mindfulness)
• Compassion-based approaches
• Practicing attention shifting regularly (not perfectly)

These tools strengthen your ability to:

• Notice thinking
• Feel emotions
• Re-engage with life

 

A Final Word of Encouragement

Kimberley offers a powerful reminder:

You’re going to be bad at this—and you’re going to do it anyway.

That’s not failure.
That’s practice.

Want to Go Deeper?

Lauren’s book, The Mental Compulsions Workbook for OCD, dives deeply into:

• Differentiating obsessions vs. mental compulsions
• How mental compulsions show up across OCD themes
• Step-by-step tools to break the cycle

If mental compulsions are stealing your time, energy, and presence—this work is worth prioritizing.

 

The podcast is made possible by NOCD. NOCD offers effective, convenient therapy available in the US and outside the US. To find out more about NOCD, their therapy plans, and if they currently take your insurance, head over to https://learn.nocd.com/youranxietytoolkit