I has done this to me in the past and I'm sure will do it again. I'm not really sure how to get out of it because as soon as you make a decision about it, it comes back with more doubt. Maybe you could speak to your therapist about it so you can get some tools for making and sticking with decisions... even when you question them.

Absolutely. OCD can cast doubt on any decision.

I remember having an obsession on how long I was supposed to study Spanish once. Since it was a hobby it was kind of ridiculous to even obsess about it. I also had this with other things.

What I have learned to do is when I am not obsessing about A (maybe I am obsessing about B) I make a decision. Then if I obsess about A I stick with the decision I made even if it's uncomfortable--I just label the thought as OCD.

In fact this kind of makes sense. The worst time to really make a decision is when you are in an obsession on it.

So on the Spanish I just picked a 1/2 hour per night and stuck with it. Eventually, over time the doubt on the decision disappeared.

Hope this helps some.

oh yea
ive been in this a motnh or 2 ago..i actually got to aplace where i was thinking all day.....analyzing and reading and reanalyzing .i have pure obsession so i was analyzing the validity of my thoughts and feelings.My ocd mind was telling me one thing and feelings another.it caused an extreeeeeeeeeeme amount of anxiety and moodiness.i wd be doing fine ,have this doubt and dowwwwwn my mood wd go...my g/f thought i was bipolar but the horrid thoughts were causing the moods .I was developing a sort of self anger/hatred.One thing that has helped in ocd and other areas is to try to change my self talk..i have found that i have a secret critic,judger,
self- sabotaging inner voice so i am tryiong to retrain.i started saying positive things about myself...good qualities..to remind myself of my truer self.when u have ocd u have not changed ,its more like a severe down time or "mind phase".it is important to keep yr spirits up to keep above the tricks of ocd.its almost as if ocd is yr adversary..If u feel down for a time (not believing in yrself) the ocd seems stronger and u may start believing what is being said to think or do.usually from what ive experienced if a feeling of defeat's reached the ocd will not "give a break" but instead increases power and like a ruthless enemy kicks u when you are already down.
i dont believe ocd is out of our power to change ,overcome.i believe it is just that we choose to believe it is maybe somewhere in the back of the mind.Maybe it began as an ( unhealthy)coping mechanism we learned long ago.u are and have always been u .no matter how horrible ocd gets,even if u "lose " yr mind,no worry u caanot help but find it again.so we can try to let go of fear of ocd and try small steps-therapy,involving ourselves in our interests and more

Yes! I question everything from my dinner choice to my outfit to my decisions to move 8 hrs from my home. I heard that OCD is called "the doubting disease"!

thats what ocd is all about thats its game, doubt doubt and more doubt

ok i jsut rereqd the post.Yea ,ocd can sap yr strength,have u question who u are etc.But there is always two sides to evrything right?
ok look for the otjher side..."you must be crazy" if u think this i can understand.When im doing horribly,i dont care about seeing the good.But thats it .When u are in bad place u cannot see very well.everything looks bleak,doom,suicide eve.But deeper than that is hurt..of how we are not liviong, how we suffer.Deeper than that is our true strength .U have all u need to get out of this.We all do.No other person has ever made u better of anything (maybe except god)u have found it inside.U have helped yrself to do all things in life .We just help each other to SEE what is inside.BEYOND the doubt,pain,weakness,giving up,etc.BEYOND.
blessings...

Im with you here, I used to be so good at decision making and knowing waht I want. Although I still know what I want in the big picture, making small decisions is hugely difficult!! Such as, "what will I eat", "what bowl do I use", "what bag do I take", "which dvd will I watch (even though they are all Friends ones!)" Its little things like that, it does my head in.

Everything you said in your post sounds just like me.

I have loads of obsessions and compulsions, and a few of them really show up at this website (Im in a few different groups). Whenever I write a post, I can't stop (compulsion), so it usually gets really long. (I also have ADD, so I ramble all over the place because one thought distracts me to another.) Also, I question everything I write, so I revise, revise, revise (obsession). Thus, it takes me all day to write a post. Then, I realize how long it is, so I hack out a bunch of parts and try to rewrite it so it sounds smooth. Then, hours later, I decide to send it, but I've become disconnected from the website for taking so long, so I have to re-enter my email and password and find the original post that I was responding to. (I've just started writing out my posts in Word and revising from there, so I won't lose the post by being disconnected from the web site.)

The hardest part is the questioning. Did I write the wrong thing? Will they take this wrong? Am I being too blunt? Is my tone too harsh? Will I be misunderstood? Is my writing stupid? Am I being a jerk to write this at all? Am I really being helpful to the original poster? Am I showing compassion?

I have a tendency to be blunt, which puts off some people although I dont even realize it until someone points it out. In fact, I ticked off someone in another group, and she replied in anger, so I wrote a big apology, explaining that I didn't mean it the way she took it. I had no idea she would take it that way. (It appeared she didnt actually read what Id written, and jumped to conclusions.) Since that, it has taken me even longer to reply to posts.

Writing something long is nothing to me. It doesn't take me long to write several pages. I've been doing that for years. What takes all the time is the constant revising, questioning, revising again, re-thinking, worrying about being misunderstood, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah.

So that's how I am with posts. The rest of my life works the same way. It takes me an hour or more to do something that should take a few minutes because I keep rethinking if I'm doing the right thing or why Im even bothering. I get so angry with myself for being so OCD/ADD, etc., that I sometimes accidentally get irritable with others. (I then apologize profusely. My husband gives me heck for saying, Im sorry all the time.) I dont think Im irritable at Daily Strength, but I dont really know how I sound. I try hard not to be that way, although I fear that when Im in a silly mood my posts probably sound self-indulgent and maybe even sarcastic. In those instances, Im only trying to show a sense of humor, but maybe it doesnt sound that way to others. Aaaarrrrgghhhhh!

And, yes, it does feel as though, as you said, Ive been changed into another personone with no strength and one who is not who I was. Though Ive had OCD/ADD all my life, and it did cause problems throughout that time, a number of bad things have happened in the past 12 years to make my condition worse and worse. I used to be somebody else, but now Im a different person. The worst thing happened three years ago, and I sunk into a deep dark hole that I never thought Id get out of. However, today (better living through chemistry) Im as close to normal as Ive been in a very long time. My mood has become more stable, and I have very few really bad days.

I hope that you will find the answer to your difficulties and you learn to understand your condition, to manage around the problems, and to find the right therapy, medication or whatever it takes. Ive found some hope at the end of a long black tunnel, and I wish you the same success.

Best regards.

Yes yes and yes! I record my every movement with my cell phone b/c i am n constant worry of what i did or didnt do! Its truly a debilitating illness

I've experienced this a lot.

Actually I'm kinda wondering what people think about this...

I'm in a commited relationship and am very happy with things. But there have been times I think about being in love and even have doubts about that. And I feel really bad for having to think about it because when I'm in a good place I know I love her very much and want us to be together and I know she loves me but sometimes I do get where I question EVERYTHING and it's like I feel bad for thinking about it.. But yeah I really get that. I get so confused and doubtful about things sometimes. It's like that inner monologue or whatever can't accept anything.

Oh my gosh, I SO identify with all of this! I just found Daily Strength, and it's reassuring reading through the posts & comments.

I had thought my OCD was relatively under control until I started an internship at a magazine, and realized I was probably losing precious time wondering if the tone of one of my emails was just right, or if I'd used the right words, if I should use emoticons to soften it in case it sounded too serious, or if using emoticons would make me look dumb, and so on. Plus, the internship was with writing and editing, and there was ENDLESS stuff to obsess about there--punctuation, how the sentences sound--it was driving me crazy, and it was hard for me to get stuff in on deadline.

I wasn't sure if this was connected to OCD or not, but it makes more and more sense that it is. I'm glad to have found other people who can empathize...