Trying to regain control

Question

Do extreme stressful events ever trigger obsessive compulsive disorder? My house was broken into a few months back and after that I got a lot more careful about checking to make sure all the doors and windows were secured and locked at all times. After a while it became like I couldn’t stop checking them even when I knew for sure that I had just checked them and everything was all right. Now I will check everything 3 times and get into bed and this voice will start nagging in my brain and I will have to get out of bed to check them again. Sometimes I do this 4 or 5 times before I can fall asleep. This crazy, I know, but I can’t control myself. What can I do?

Dr. Lani Chin · Accepted Answer

It sounds like you're attempting to retain control over something you can control. When your house was broken into, you had no control over the situation. Now, to compensate for that it sounds like you are attempting to control something you can. Although you may feel like you are developing OCD, it sounds like you're reacting more from a fearful place and checking the locks helps to reduce your fears. I would recommend you seek some individual therapy to talk about other ways you can cope with your fears. You can definitely find a knowledgeable professional to help you with this. If you are in the Southern California region, I would be happy to help you with this. You can reach me through my website: www.drlanichin.com. Good luck.

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