OCD Subtypes
Contamination, harm, Pure O, relationship, scrupulosity and more: what each OCD subtype looks like and what helps.
Checking OCD: Why You Recheck the Stove (and How to Stop)
You checked the stove. You saw it was off. So why do you have to go back? Experiments with real kitchen stoves show that repeated checking makes your memory feel less trustworthy, even when…
Read the article →More on OCD Subtypes
ROCD and Feeling Annoyed With Your Partner
ROCD can turn ordinary irritation with a partner into a test of the relationship. Learn how checking feelings…
Read More →
Somatic OCD and Body Scanning: Why Noticing Sensations Can Become a Loop
Somatic OCD can make ordinary body sensations feel impossible to ignore. Learn how body scanning keeps attention locked…
Read More →
Real Event OCD and Responsibility: Why Past Mistakes Can Feel Unforgivable
Real event OCD can turn past mistakes into endless responsibility checks. Learn why the past can feel unforgivable…
Read More →
False Memory OCD and Memory Checking: Why Reviewing Can Create More Doubt
False memory OCD can make memory checking feel urgent. Learn why repeated review may increase doubt instead of…
Read More →
ROCD Reassurance: Why Asking “Do I Really Love Them?” Can Backfire
ROCD reassurance can feel necessary, but repeated love-checking may strengthen doubt. Learn why the question keeps returning.
Read More →
Relationship OCD and Attraction Checking: Why Feelings Can Feel Unclear
Attraction checking can make relationship feelings feel less clear. Learn how ROCD can turn normal fluctuation into a…
Read More →
Pure O and Reassurance Seeking: Questions That Keep Coming Back
Pure O reassurance questions can come back even after a clear answer. Learn why reassurance loops happen and…
Read More →
Pure O and Mental Review: Why Replaying Thoughts Can Keep OCD Active
Mental review can feel like problem solving, but in Pure O it may keep OCD active. Learn how…
Read More →
Scrupulosity Spikes: What to Do When a Doubt Feels Urgent
Scrupulosity spikes can make moral or religious doubt feel urgent. Learn practical ways to pause, reduce checking, and…
Read More →Try an exercise from the app
These are real statements from the ocd.app app. For each one, decide: is it OCD thinking that keeps the cycle going, or a helpful thought to practise?
- I have to be sure I have not sinned
- Everything I do is a sin
- Doubts regarding my morality are unbearable
- I'll be punished for my immoral thoughts
- Tolerating my fear of sin make me stronger
- Feeling good leads to doing good
- My unwanted thoughts don't define me
- Nobody completely controls their thoughts
Exposure and response prevention (ERP) means facing the thoughts OCD makes you avoid, without doing the ritual. Pick a thought from the app that makes you uneasy, then stay with it.
- If I don't strive for perfect - I'll sin
- God sees that I'm immoral
- I'll never be able to be at peace with God
- I'm immoral for having sexual thoughts
- The world is full of sin
- I'll be punished by God for having bad thoughts
- I have to be perfect for God
- I need to be absolutely sure about my faith
- I have to be certain I'm absolutely moral
- God accepts only perfect people
An urge is a wave: it rises, peaks and passes, even when you do nothing. Breathe with the circle for 40 seconds — in for 4, out for 6 — and let the urge be there without acting on it.
Tolerating my fear of sin make me stronger
Educational practice, not therapy or a diagnosis. More exercises from the app · Practise daily in the ocd.app app →
Practise what you read, a few minutes a day
The ocd.app app turns these ideas into short daily exercises, built with clinical psychologists and backed by 22 peer-reviewed studies.
Start free →