The literature of OCD is littered with information about the more famous classical types of this disorder, with repeated descriptions of washing, checking, repeating or worries of doing harm to oneself or others. Sensorimotor obsessions however are based on a preoccupation with normal bodily processes such as breathing, blinking and swallowing. Sufferers become so obsessed with these processes, that they can barely think about anything else. This creates an enormous amount of anxiety as they worry that their selective attention will always be focused on these obsessions. But perhaps there is a way out of this subtle, but infuriating type of OCD. Here I share my story and how I learnt to live with sensorimotor OCD.
What is Sensorimotor OCD?
Sensorimotor obsessions are related to the day to day workings of your body. It could be your breathing, blinking, swallowing or a million other variations. In an article taken from beyond OCD, David J Keuler PHD states that “Sensorimotor obsessions as defined here involve either a focus on automatic bodily processes or discrete physical sensations. Whether technically sensory or sensorimotor in nature, such obsessions share one common precursor: selective attention.” It seems that this selective attention and an unwillingness to experience it is what creates the problem.
A person becomes anxious that they will never be able to stop thinking about the obsession and this leads to a lot of anxiety. What often seems to happen is that the person ends up making matters worse by constantly trying to push the obsession away, which tends to only make the problem worse. Keuler goes on to say that “In a typical scenario, individuals begin to selectively attend to their swallowing, for example, and become anxious that they will become unable to stop thinking about their swallowing. Attempts to distract themselves fail, leading to higher levels of anxiety. This anxiety perpetuates the focus on swallowing, leaving them preoccupied and frustrated.
Common Sensorimotor Obsessions
– Breathing (how your breathing feelings, whether your breathing deeply or shallowly)
– Blinking (awareness of blinking, counting how often you blink)
– Swallowing/Salivation (the regularity of swallowing and how much saliva you might have in your mouth
– Movement of the mouth and/or tongue during speech
– Pulse/Heartbeat (a heightened sense of awareness of the pulse)eye contact (anxiety about how to look into peoples eyes, whether to look at one eye or both)
– Awareness of Specific Body Parts (for example being hyper aware of the mouth, or the sensations of how your fingers touch your other fingers)
How did it affect me?
From my own personal experience of fighting with sensorimotor OCD for many years, it is one of the most infuriating and potentially debilitating subtypes of OCD. I am well aware of what feels like the ´impossible to get away from´ scenarios that it creates. Perhaps the hardest thing about this type of OCD is that you can´t ever get away from it. Your bodily sensations are there with you all the time and if you don´t know how to deal with them effectively, they can bother you ALL THE TIME. OCD is a dirty trickster, hanging out in the dark corners of your mind, waiting for an opportunity to latch on to your thought process
Probably the hardest sensorimotor obsession i´ve dealt with has been hyper awareness of the mouth. I´m not entirely sure why, but from time to time my attention gets fixated on my mouth.
I become obsessed about how my teeth rest against my cheeks, how my tongue touches the palate or about whether my teeth look normal when I smile. I would get so stuck on these thoughts that I would struggle to pay attention to anything else. Social settings would become a nightmare, where I would have to perform a tricky balance between paying attention to the sensations whilst trying to listen to a conversation and smile like I was actually paying attention. More often than not, I would just get drunk and this would often temporarily resolve the issue, only for the anxiety to come back twice as bad the next day. “Hey sucker, i´m here and don´t you forget it”. Nobody had any idea that this circus performance was going on in the inside. I guess people found me to be distant, dreamy or perhaps just drunk.
What makes sensorimotor OCD so tricky?
The major difference between this type of OCD and classical OCD is that it can be really hard to detect the compulsions that you are performing. With hand washing OCD it is pretty damn blatant if you are performing the compulsion or not, but with sensorimotor, the compulsions are in disguise, hence you keep getting stuck in them again and again, even if you are determined not to perform the compulsions. If you don´t know what the compulsions are, then how can you stop yourself from performing them? Janet singer from Psych comments that “those with OCD who suffer from sensorimotor obsessions often find their lives greatly affected. They have trouble concentrating on anything other than their obsessions and might have difficulties socializing and sleeping as well.” So what can be done to help people with this difficult type of OCD.
Treatment for Sensorimotor OCD
Sensoritmotor OCD can be treated quite successfully by breaking the connection between sensory awareness and reactive anxiety. The first thing you would need to do is to seek the support of a professional and tell them about your concerns. Unfortunately, as this type of OCD is rarer, you may come across some therapists who are unaware of it, so you might need to be ready for this. A therapist should work with you so that you can experience the sensory obessions, but without the accompanying anxiety. This is because once a thought is linked with anxiety, the conscious mind will persistently keep it present. This is very much related to an experiment from the late 80´s called ´The White Bear Syndrome´. In the experiment, people are told they are allowed to think about anything other than a white bear and of course they end up thinking about nothing but white bears (Wegner 1989), they have white bears coming out of their ears.
The most common compulsion that is used to reduce the anxiety is to try and forcibly distract your attention onto something else. Unfortunately this doesn´t work and you will end up with even more anxiety enducing white bears coming into your head. A powerful tool in learning to recognize the compulsions and breaking the thought and anxiety link is developing awareness through mindful meditation. It is important to teach people that if they can sit and observe their anxiety without doing anything to reduce it, the anxiety will go down on itself and the sensory obsession will likely pass. Keuler from the previously mentioned article states that “The first stage of treatment focuses on teaching patients that selective attention to previously automatic or unconscious bodily processes or sensations is not dangerous in and of itself. Patients are reassured that once their anxiety dissipates, the sensory awareness will shift.” In addition to this, you could also decide to learn about acceptance and commitmenth therapy, a powerful combination of CBT and mindfulness that helps people to become more aware of their negative habits and to chage them.
This then links directly into the Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Dr Steven Seay, a specialist in the treatment of OCD, breaks ERP down into two components: 1) exposure, and 2) ritual. He states that “Exposure involves intentionally confronting situations that you know are likely to increase your fear and anxiety. Ritual prevention involves choosing to sit with your anxiety (without resisting it) and letting go of the unhelpful strategies (rituals) that are maintaining the cycle.” When you first do this, you are likely to feel a lot of fear, but with time and practice the fear will decrease along with the obsessions of bodily sensations.
You may try thought experiments where you purposely try to invite the obsessions in. For example for my mouth obsession I would sit comfortably in my room (always make sure you are somewhere safe if you try this and definitely do not try it when driving) and would then purposely bring all my attention to my mouth, the sensations of the teeth, how my tongue felt, how much saliva I had until I started to feel the anxiety. If you keep doing this, over time you are tricking your brain into thinking that it is ok to feel this anxiety, because you are the one who is intentionally inviting it in. You are no longer trying to run from it. This subtle difference IS the difference and you will begin to notice how by just sitting with the anxiety it will go down on it´s own.
Conclusion
Personally, I was amazed at the difference these techniques made to my life. I felt like sensorimotor OCD was ruining my life and at times I felt pretty desperate. Within a few weeks of applying mindfulness and ERP I noticed a huge reduction in the obsessions. I had been fighting with them years, but suddenly through acceptance and trust in these techniques I started going for days without being bothered by them at all. Please feel free to ask questions and If you would like to discuss this further then drop me a message.
#ocd #sensorimotorocd #anxiety #breathingocd #mouthocd #swallowingocd #mouthocd
Hi,
For the past few months I have been going through what I could only describe as conscious breathing. I cant let my breathing happen naturally. I have tried to unlink this compulsion from its anxiety by sitting still and just letting myself consciously breath but no matter how long I sit and observe that nothing bad is happening I cannot get rid of this constant urge.
Was wondering if you had any advice for a breathing compulsion specifically. It feel its a little different from most as you have to breath constantly so it is quite difficult to remove the anxiety.
Thanks so much
Hi George, this kind of thing can be very frustrating. I dealt with this for a few years and have clients now who have the same issue. The trick is to learn to purposefully tune into the breath in a mindful way. This sounds counter intuitive, but what´s happened is that you have become afraid of the breath. To overcome that, you need to show your brain that you are not afraid of it and to do that you need to start focusing in on your breath and learning about it. It´s not easy but you can overcome this. I´m happy to talk to you about it in more detail if you like.
I need help, it’s like I have to focus on the way I breathe in order to breathe. They tell me it’s probably anxiety and I shouldn’t think of it but even when I try to distract myself I still do it ))):
Hello, I have just sent you an email 🙂
Hello I am dealing with this same breathing issue right now and need help, it is miserable and exhausting especially when trying to sleep! Thank you
Hello, i’m sorry to hear that. You can learn to overcome this. I know it’s frustrating, but you can learn to refocus your attention
I have developed this breathing problem. I focus on my breathing a lot and I’m scared I’ll be like this for life. Lately I’m trying to accept it and knowing I can’t run from it so I invite it. But I have a question it says tio get rid of compulsions one of mine was taking deep breaths and yawn when I would feel short of breath. I can stop the yawning but how do i stop the deep breaths i try to not do it for couple of minutes but its like my urge is so strong that I feel I am running short of air.
Hi Yolanda, sorry to hear you have been struggling with this. I sent you an email to discuss your question in more detail.Many Thanks
Hi Robert – Do you still offer a free intro skype call?
Hi Abby, yes I do. I will send you an email and we can discuss.
Robert hi I’m struggling with saliva issues and focusing on swallowing I can’t get it out of my head it just started like 4 days ago and now I’m even getting suicidal thoughts I need help plz get back to me
Hi Rafael,
Please try to stay as positive as you can, I know it can be very challenging. I highly recommend that you speak to your doctor about this and start the process of learning to overcome it.
Hello Robert, I have been struggling with a hyperawareness of salivation in the mouth. It makes it very hard for me to socialize like you. I’ve tried to reduce my compulsions (swallowing) but that has not worked. I’m trying to be have a more acceptant stance, and that seems to reduce the discomfort. I am actually getting tms treatment right now. I would love to have days without trouble like you. Would like to hear from you. Thanks!!!
Hello,
I started up with sensorimotor ocd in March. I was doing quite well but now I have become hyperaware of itching and has caused some sleep disruption. Any advice would be appreciated.
Hi Albert, sorry for the late reply. I’m going to send you a message about this.
I’m dealing with blinking awareness and it’s very hard ! I try to accept it, it can work for a moment even for a day but I always come back to the starting point where I’m completely stuck and scared by it.
Hi Caroline, yes this is a very common problem with sensorimotor. It can feel like you will never be able to think about something else again, but this simply isn´t true. With time and practice, you can use things like ACT to help you to overcome this. If you would like to know more, then feel free to send me a messaqge 🙂
I am suffering from breathing OCD .
Its like i am dying .
I dont know what to do
Please help.
Hi Mohamed, i´m sorry to hear that you are struggling with this. You need to practice breathing more slowly. Have you been to see you doctor? I highly reccomend that you do this. If you can practice some slow breathing techniques, then that will also help. If you have more questions, then please let me know.
Hello, I’m suffering from various obsessions and the ones I have at the moment are about my breathing and face area (especially lower jaw and chin). I know that the second one may sound a little strange, but the thing is that, when I control my breathing, I tend to “constrict” the passage of air (in my nose and throat areas). Consequently, when I breathe, it almost feels like i’m breathing “with my face” (I hope you understand what I mean by that!).
For example, because I’m controlling my breathing through my nose and throat (I don’t let the air go through freely, in other words), my face gets really tense everytime I exhale. And for this reason I sometimes have trembling feeling on my chin because it gets so tense. I even have neck spasms when I finish exhaling (right before I automatically inhale) and very strange head tension because of that control I make.
The problem is that I don’t even feel anxiety or panic regarding the breathing obsession. I’m so used to it (been going on (on and off) for three years) that it doesn’t scare me anymore. But it makes me sad and deeply angry. And because it has real physical consequences (face tension), I don’t know how I can make it stop. I mean, I feel like i’ve habituated my brain and my body to these sensations. What should I do ? I don’t feel like ERP can do anything since I don’t feel panic or tremendous fear when I’m aware of my breathing. I just feel extremelly helpless and upset.
Thank you !
Hello Marine, yes i can imagine this must be very difficult. With this, i think it´s important to remember that fear can take on disguises. For example, anger is ultimately a form of fear. So although you may not be experiencing this as fear, deep down there is probably some feqr involved. What you need to do in my opinion is learn some proper breathing techniques and practice them for 5-10 mintues each day. You need to slowly retrain yourself to breathe in a more relaxed way. I think you would also benefit from working on the mindset and the anger that you have built up around this. You can definitely do this, it just takes time and practice. If you like, I offer a free phone call, so i´d be happy to talk to you about this in more detail.
Hi Robert,
I have OCD that feels like itching on the skin of my throat.
How would ERP for this subtype of OCD look like, according to you?
Thank you!
Hi Michael,
You need to do your best to avoid scratching or itching it, that in itself will be an exposure. You could also try imaginary exposures.
Hello I’ve had breathing OCD since 2016 but I was able to forget about it at times because I got distracted with school and social life. Now, I’ve started to think about it every minute again. I’ve been looking at a lot of articles and started trying ERP by myself. I would just like to ask some advice on how I should do it? Most self-help books don’t really tackle sensorimotor OCD.
When I think of breathing I manually breathe sometimes I think I will never stop thinking of breathing again and will manually breathe forever. Sometimes I also think that If I don’t breathe manually I will die from not breathing. So what should my approach be in exposure? Do I hold my breath?
Hey, I just replied to your previous message.
thank you for replying. I have read in forums that acceptance is key and I think this relates closely to what you are saying.
Hello Neca, you need to learn to be comfortable with both concious and unconcious breathing again. To do that you need to purpsodefully tune into the breath. You can do this through meditattion, deep breathing practices, the Wim Hof method etc. In addition to this, you can purpsoefully keep bringing your breath to your attention throughout the day. Like this you are no longer running from this fear and facing it head on. When you keep doing this, you giving your brain the message that ypu don´t care about concious breathing and the problem with it will hopefully start to fade.
Hello, i have been suffering from breathing OCD for the past year now and my anxiety with it got so bad that I couldn’t drive even for 5 minutes because I thought I couldn’t breathe in such small space as a car. In the summer it got much better but now in the second lockdown it’s getting bad again and I don’t want to fall in to the intense anxious period like i did last winter again. I am very afraid that this sensation won’t ever go away and i feel like i will never be able to travel (because i would have panic attacks on a plane), which was my biggest passion in life 2 years ago. I try to think about breathing without anxiety and sometimes i am successful but mostly not. What should i do? I would be extremely happy if you could help me, I cannot live like this anymore it’s ruining the quality of my life!
Hi Tessa,
Thanks for reaching out. It often feels with sensorimotor like the sensations are never going to go away, this is just what the OCD does. If you can learn to move towards these obsessions and explore them, they may start to become less severe. If you like, i´m happy to chat to you about this over skype?
Hi Richard
In the last 2 months I’ve had the swallowing, which turned to breathing and now blinking!! I’ve been through a highly anxious traumatic time due to death of a loved one. Which I believe has triggered this. I’m currently receiving help from a hypnotherapist/psychotherapist and taking and SSRI which has helped with my anxiety greatly. I would love to have a Skype session or a reply from you recommending how I stop this conscious blinking. ERP or ACT?? Thank you in advance and to fellow sufferers you aren’t alone 🙂
Hi, firstly what a great article. Really helpful into the steps I should be taking. I have been dealing with what I can only call a constant urge to pee due to being focused and hyperaware of that body part. Really annoying. I will be trying this techniques for sure!
Thank you!
Hi there,
I´m happy that you found it helpful 🙂 If you have any other questions about how to deal with this, then do please let me know.
Hi
Much like previous posters i have had breathing ocd since sept last year. Stops me sleeping at night and is constant. I feel like there is no anxiety ie no palpitations etc but i could be wrong. I too am in the trap.of i will have this forever. Had this about 10 years ago and cant remember how i managed to get over it. On mirtazapine (remeron at the minute) but doesnt seem to help. Is the best attitude to basically say this wont stop me living life and do the things i would normally do? Its the sleeping that really bothers me. Could put up with it during the day but no sleep is killing me
Hi there,
Sorry to hear that you are struggling with this. It can be really tough but you can definitely overcome this. There are three main steps to overcoming it. First is working on an acceptance mindset which you can grow with practice. Then practicing unhooking from the breath and refocusing the attention and finally doing exposure activities so that you no longer care if your attention is on the breath or not. In my personal experience, focusing on all these three things will be the difference. If you like I offer a free session and can talk to you about it further?
Hey Robert can we chat a little about this subject? Maybe by email or whatsapp this will be help me a lot
Thanks
Hello Robert, in 2014 I had a serious obsession with breathing, it was 3 months of suffering, but I managed to overcome it completely and have a full life after that, in other words, here is the message that we can overcome this.
In the meantime I started having one with swallowing. I start to wonder if this is something innocent that just appears, or if it can be linked to factors such as some chemicals, food and choices, internal inflammations.
Recently I have been reading about things like glutamate. It coincides or not the first time I experienced this in 2014 I woke up suddenly and started to control my breath with a lot of anxiety. And that night I went to a Chinese restaurant. This time it comes at the same time that I had an intestinal inflation and another one in the bones of a foot I didn’t know this, but in the meantime I read that these things can be connected, do you have any thoughts on this?
thank you
Hi there,
Yes in my opinion they are definitely connected. They are two apples that have fallen from the same tree. But the good news is that they can be treated in the same way.
Hi Robert
Please may I contact you via email or zoom to discuss overcoming hyperawarness of thinking ; just finding it difficult overcoming this atm
Yes, of course, no problem.
Hi Robert , from the last week I suffer from blinking ocd. Let me tell you how it happened: I was looking on internet for a therapy about my ocd peeing. I have it 6 years. And as I was searching I found that my ocd has a name, sensorimotor ocd. I read an article about it and when I read about ocd swallowing i was terrified and I started immediately to check my swallow because I feared if I get stuck by ocd swallowing. After 3 days I looked again on internet about how to fight this and I read in a forum the phrase ” I suffer from blinking, I think about my eyes every time” . I was terrified, I felt scary if I get stuck with blinking eyes. Immediately I started checking my eyes . My fear and my awareness moved from swallowing to eyes and after a few minutes my swallow awareness stopped. My mind by then is stuck on eyes . I notice everytime my eyes when they close and then open. Its hell. I suffer . I cry all the time . All day, every time I notice the feeling of closing-opening my eyes I am terrified, I feel that this will never stop and my life is destroyed.
I went to psychiatrist and told me its an obsession. He gave me ecsitalopram. And he told me to do things to get my mind bussy. But I can’t, the notice of blinking eyes don’t let me . Sometimes I feel so ruined that I think I don’t want my life this way .
I need your help please how to overcome .
Hello, you can overcome this. I´m going to send you an email.
Anna please reply to me by mail, I suffer from similar, but about teeth 🙁 keita17@azet.sk
Hi Robert,
I’ve been struggling with sensorimotor OCD for a few years now, and I’ve gotten to the point where it no longer causes me panic like it used to, but it sometimes comes back and makes me feel anxious. I want to tell my parents about it (I never have) but I am afraid that if I do, they’ll get the OCD too. Is this an irrational fear? And what can I do to finally get rid of this anxiety?
Thanks
Hi Jack, I have sent you an email in regards to this. You definitely can overcome it.
Hello there!
I have breathing ocd since 2014 and i can not sleep without medication. I just want to know when i get this under control does insomina goes away and does sleeping back to normal?
Hello, insomnia can be caused b all types of things, but yes, getting to grips with the OCD will certainly help to releive it. I wish you the best of luck with it. Oh and by the way, for me, i find that doing exercise during the day helps with my sleep. Thanks
Hi,
I think I’ve developed a sensorimotor obsession with where my lower jaw sits. I feel so hopeless and I don’t know what to do. I’m so afraid that things will never get better.
Hi Sara, i´m sorry to hear that. I´m going to write you an email.
Good afternoon. Please can you send me e-mail too? I am so lost. I cant stop to touch my lower teeth with my tongue. Its been a week now. I had clear aligners – braces – for 6 weeks and had to give up because I developed horrible anxiety. I thought it would be better but everything got even worse. My lower teeth are crowded and my tongue suddenly feels it as foreign object. It makes me even more anxious because I cant change shape of teeth, cant have braces again. Also, when I gave up braces 2 weeks ago, I filed down one sharp edge of tooth, it is round now, my dentist polished it. Dentist said he doesnt know if this is OCD or if my tongue needs to adjust to new shape of tooth. My life is ruined, all I can think of is that particular tooth (or teeth, I dont even know) and how my tongue doesnt like the feeling. Before I got braces I never realized where my tongue is in my mouth, never my tongue had problems with crowded teeth. They say my tongue should rest on upper teeth not lower but how do I forget it? Cant watch movie, read book, anything without this on my mind, only when I put my tongue up or when I sleep it is better, but even my sleep is interrupted 🙁 Please help
Hello, I have responded via email 🙂
Hi
I have the same issue, I can’t stop thinking about my permanent retainer in my lower mouth. It wasn’t a problem before, but now I think about it constantly and it keeps me up at night. I want to have it removed very badly, but I know it would probably mess up my teeth.
Could you please help me?
Hello, this is very frustrating, but you can overcome it. Feel free to send me an email to discuss.
Hello, I am suffering from the same obsession that you are talking about, is there an email i can contact you on? Thanks.
Hello, I am going to send you an email.
Hi Robert,
I have sensorimotor OCD. My sensorimotor issue is focused on my teeth where it started with clenching my teeth to make sure my bite was correct but that has morphed into this happening a lot and me always touching my teeth together and the fear is I will stated to chip them and maybe lose some. I saw some pictures of peoples teeth that scared on the web that had had OCD issues and this scared me.
RT
Hi Thomas, i´m sorry to hear you have been struggling with this. The good news is that you can overcome it.
Hi, I have very similar problem, if you want to talk, please reply to me by mail 🙁
keita17@azet.sk please reply
I have been suffering from breathing sensorimotor OCD for the last 2 weeks. It’s affecting my life so much and it triggers anxiety and depression. What should I do?
Thanks
I´m going to send you an email…
I have been dealing with heartbeat sensorimotor OCD. I am so hyper aware of my heart beat i feel it in my chest all day. Do you have any suggestions on what I could do to cause this obsession to go away.
The main advice is counter intuitive at first, but you need to actually focus in more and on purpose to the heartbeat. Right now it gives you anxiety, but by intentionally focusing on it, you can learn that it´s ok. If you like I offere a free session and can discuss with you in detail. feel free to message me if you would like to set that up.
hello brother send me the email
I have been suffering from breathing sensorimotor OCD for the last month. It is seriously affecting my life so bad. What should I do? Please help me. I want to chat with you, how can I do that? Thanks
Hi there, sorry to hear you have been struggling with this. I’ll send you an email now.
Thanks Robert for this. Couldn’t agree more with the method mentioned, and it’s good to see something written by someone who actually had the condition itself.
I’m also someone whose fortunate to have recovered from sensorimotor OCD. As theres still a lack of information on how to treat it as well as a lack of access to a suitable therapist for many, I’ve written a brief guide on overcoming sensorimotor OCD at Sensorimotorocd.net. It’s based primarily on CBT and ERP. I hope it is useful to people who are struggling with this.
Hello, thanks for your message. I will check out the guide 🙂
Hi robert my name is ruel gabriel from philipines, i developed breathing ocd when i had panic attack that cause me to focus on my breath for 2 weeks, but after 2 months its getting better because the anxiet and fear went down drastically though i am still working on this one. i just have few question and if possible to talk with you via zoom or instagram even for short period of time only thank you!
Sure, no problem. Send me an email on the website and I will get back to you to arrange it.
Hi Ruel, I will send you an email to discuss this 🙂
Hi, I have swallowing OCD. I don’t know how to deal with it. I just try to swallow when I feel that I have to, but I don’t know if it is the right techinque.
Should I do that or should I stop swallowing?
Thank you!
Hi Fede, I sent you an email about this. Did you get it? More than happy to discuss this through with you if you like?
Hi Robert
I too have issues regarding my tongue/mouth while I talk. It makes me question everything that comes out my mouth and whether or not I may sound/say something stupid. I also having blinking ocd. Any suggestions?
Hi Ian,
I will send you a private message about this.
Hii Robert i have sensorimotor awareness exactly like u !! How the tongue is touching teeth or movement of tongue while talking or when doing nothing how the tongue is placed in the mouth.. smtimes causes to swallow saliva!! Or dryness of tongue or strange senses!! Or when sleepin how the tongue is placed in mouth!! I can say not 24 hrs attention on them sometimes i get busy and forget abt it!! Bt usually its there!! But i like to know what are the steps!! my themes always shift from awareness to awareness!! Should we redirect attention elsewhere? I dnt have much fear / anxiety bt more like bothered !! That my attention is there !!
Hi Arpie, Sorry to hear you have been struggling with this. I have sent you an email and we can discuss.
Hello mate. Just wondering if you’d be open to talk about some speech and breathing sensorimotor OCD. Been finding it very hard to find treatment and would be open to any kinds of tips.
Hi Tom, I sent you an email…
Hi bro, I’ve been suffering with these awareness for some time. It started with breathing first, then it went to blinking, then it when to saliva swallowing, now I realized that I have Been realizing my mouth opening, the teeth touching together, while sleeping my mouth opening and all. I have jerks at night and panic attacks. I have generalized anxiety disorder and depression. Hope you can help me out by sharing your tips how you overcome these awareness. Thanks a lot and God bless you brother.
Hi Rajesh,
The most important thing with this stuff is to realise that you are the one in charge of your attention. Your focus can drift to different bodily processes and that is not a problem. The trick lies in not getting annoyed about it, in remain calm as this teaches your brain that it’s ok to allow these things. Learn to meditate and this will help you a lot with all of this. I hope that helps.
Hi Mr. Robert, this has been genius and your tactics have been what I have learned through research and past therapy. I have been hit with a HUGE OCD episode again this last month and am in big need of help/therapy. I have multiple themes going on. One is sensorimotor and the thought “what if I choke on food?” So hard! But I’m doing the ERP on my own until I can find an affordable therapist. Could you pretty please email me; I’d be SO appreciative.
Sure, no problem.
Hi Robert
Ive been struggling with breathing OCD for about a year and a bit. Im exposed to the sensations everyday 24/7 and it stops me sleeping. I though if i was exposed to the sensations constantly i would habituated and the awareness would fade. I nite from your posts that exposure to fears ie ill be like this forever and will never sleep again while being aware of the sensations. In addition i feel an urge to breathe at the end of an exhale like air hunger is thisna compulsion? Ive eliminated most other compulsions like constantly youtubing searchin for answers as to why this has happened. Looking in the mirror in the morning re the insomnia. I think of having this forever and never sleeping again give me a lot of fear still well why wouldnt it lol.
Hi Colin,
This can be very tricky. The most import thing with sensorimotor is acceptance and allowing bodily functions to go back to there normal settings. To trust in yourself and the process.
Hello! It was really helpful as i can’t afford therapy.. I get hyper aware objects touching my skin when i am doing something like when my notebook touches my body or my earphone touches my arm especially when i am studying and also light reflections on my phone screen and also when something is in motion like something which is not still touching my skin. I think the fear is i can’t concentrate on my task . I would love to hear some advice from you.. ❤👍
Hi Nikita,
One of the best things for this type of OCD is to learn to apply mindfulness skills. Do you listen to my podcast? You might find it helpful in order to deepen your understanding of OCD. It’s called the OCD and Anxiety Podcast by Robert James Coaching. All the best with it an Dif in the future you can afford it, I recommend doing therapy or coaching.
Hello, Robert
I have an obsession to control my breathing. I am not afraid to stop breathing. I’m afraid I won’t stop thinking about it. If you could send me an email with some advice I would appreciate it, thanks.
Hello, I have sent you a message 🙂
Hello Robert, I messaged you on Reddit and dealing with the swallowing saliva theme. My compulsion is solely reassurance. I’ve been working on sitting with it all without reassurance the last few days it is very hard. Just stick with it and things will improve? It feels like hyperawareness will never end
I have sent you an email about this.
Hi Robert, I have swallowing and saliva ocd too on and off for last 50 years and have it again now but I don’t understand what is the compulsion and feel stuck when it happens. Please can you advise? Many thanks
Hi there, sure no problem, I will send you an email and my apologies for the delayed response.
Hi Robert, thank you for the insightful article. I’ve been suffering from breathing OCD. And and very confused as to what my compulsion is. Furthermore, I am not sure if I should be paying attention to my breath or not and very confused about the exposures for this. Please could we arrange a call? Would be greatly appreciated it 🙏
Hi there, sorry for the late reply and sure, no problem.
I have struggled with sensorimotor OCD for quite some time now and I’ve managed to use ERP to successfully get over them. However in the past couple of days I developed blinking OCD which is a new one and has been very hard to deal with. I am having troubles figuring out how to apply ERP to the blinking OCD and i’m in a cycle of looking up how to get over this and breaking down over this sensation.
Hi Eliana, I’m sorry to hear you have been struggling with this. It’s always about acceptance in my experience. I can send you an email if you would like to know more.