{"id":10937,"date":"2025-05-06T05:29:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T02:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/?p=10937"},"modified":"2025-09-17T15:07:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T12:07:42","slug":"brief-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/en\/health\/brief-01\/","title":{"rendered":"What if there&#8217;s a fire or someone breaks in? The reality of OCD: I can&#8217;t stop checking everything"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"podcastplayer\"><figure class=\"wp-block-audio podcastplayer\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/s\/1046d7c48\/podcast\/play\/102233327\/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-4-6%2F399672926-44100-2-ee4076cf6b65c.m4a\" preload=\"none\"><\/audio><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"mks_dropcap_letter\" style=\"font-size: 72px; color: #dd3c7a; \">W<\/span>hen anxiety becomes a constant companion and doesn\u2019t let go even before sleep, many people start wondering: \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with me?\u201d If you feel like you\u2019re \u201ctrapped\u201d and don\u2019t understand why you keep checking the stove or whether the door is locked \u2014 you might recognize yourself. Or someone who\u2019s been around for a long time but still couldn\u2019t explain what\u2019s happening to them.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMisery Shared Podcast\u201d is an honest conversation about mental health. Its host, Slava, shares personal experiences of living with obsessive-compulsive disorder \u2014 not for shock value, but to explain what it really means to live with OCD. How it starts, why it\u2019s so hard to stop, and what happens if you let it spiral out of control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong>: the author makes it clear that he is not a psychologist or a psychotherapist. He strongly opposes any form of online diagnosis. This podcast is not intended for self-diagnosis or self-treatment. Its purpose is to explain things in simple terms and to encourage people to seek help from a therapist \u2014 even if it feels like a waste of time. It also aims to help listeners choose a good mental health professional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is OCD, in simple terms?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>OCD (or obsessive-compulsive disorder, scientifically speaking) is often associated with endless hand-washing. More progressive sources expand the definition to include a need for symmetry. But those are just some of the possible symptoms \u2014 and not always the ones people experience. OCD can manifest in many different ways. For example, as a fear of making a mistake \u2014 which leads to rereading a message over and over before sending it. Or a thought like: \u201cWhat if I don\u2019t check the receipt and the cashier charged a different price, and I miss it?\u201d Very often, it\u2019s about the feeling that everything depends on you. Things might not actually go wrong \u2014 but you want to be prepared just in case. And this exhausting, constant nature of anxiety is the core problem in OCD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Slava calls it a cage in hell with an open door \u2014 a metaphor that might seem exaggerated until you find yourself inside. It feels like you can walk out at any moment, but you keep going back to the compulsive behaviors again and again.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>And many people live for years asking themselves, \u201cHow do I break out of the OCD cycle?\u201d Or they see it as a fixed part of their personality \u2014 because they can\u2019t even remember when it began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How does OCD begin?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>OCD rarely starts suddenly. For Slava, the first symptoms appeared in school \u2014 with what seemed like harmless checking of the gas stove and the door. Back then, he didn\u2019t know it was the first step into a vicious cycle where anxiety disguises itself as hyper-responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Over time, the simple checks become more complicated and layered with new fears. For example, you\u2019re not just checking the receipt \u2014 you can\u2019t walk away from the fridge until you\u2019re sure that everything you bought actually made it home. Five, ten, twenty times. And it\u2019s not because you forgot \u2014 it\u2019s because you\u2019re afraid of making a mistake. Even if everything\u2019s been checked, your brain still doubts it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Gradually, anxiety turns into a way of existing. And maybe, if in Belarus \u2014 especially in the 1990s \u2014 there had been a culture of seeking help from a psychologist, things wouldn\u2019t feel so critical today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why do we stay silent about our anxiety?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The difficulty of OCD lies not only in the symptoms, but also in how society treats psychology. In post-Soviet culture, the idea still persists that seeing a psychologist is something to be ashamed of \u2014 especially for men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cA real man should handle it on his own\u201d \u2014 a mindset that causes many people to stay silent about their struggles for years.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Add to that the fear of being misunderstood. It\u2019s always scary to open up \u2014 it\u2019s easy to be labeled as \u201ccrazy.\u201d Especially in childhood, if OCD begins to show at that age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And sometimes, even if you\u2019ve already made the first step, when you go to a psychologist, it might turn out they don\u2019t understand your problem. They might say, \u201cYou\u2019re just stressed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although this podcast doesn\u2019t aim to replace professional therapy (quite the opposite), it\u2019s a way to answer the questions you might not have found the right words for when trying to describe your condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>And if you feel like you already know everything about yourself and are just waiting for the doctor to prescribe antidepressants \u2014 take a pause.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In the upcoming episodes, we\u2019ll explain why those medications don\u2019t always work the way you expect. To understand that, you first need to understand the underlying mechanism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The mechanism of the vicious cycle<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So, we\u2019ve established that OCD is a loop. But why does it keep working, despite how exhausting it is?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Imagine being struck by an anxious thought \u2014 \u201cWhat if they gave me the wrong change?\u201d And since you were the one at the store, \u201cIt would be your fault if your family lost money \u2014 because you weren\u2019t careful enough.\u201d To relieve the tension, you take an action to get rid of the thought. For example, you count the change again. While you\u2019re counting the money, the thought fades \u2014 the situation feels under control, but only briefly. Let\u2019s say you finally feel calm after counting the change a third time. Everything seems fine. BUT \u2014 the idea that \u201cthis is the right thing to do\u201d can take root. And next time, you\u2019ll do it again. And if it doesn\u2019t help, maybe you\u2019ll need to do it one more time. The more often you repeat it, the more the habit solidifies. And there it is \u2014 the cycle. That\u2019s how the vicious loop is formed \u2014 and why it\u2019s so hard to break out of it on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you start to understand how the cycle works, it becomes easier to see why OCD symptoms can look so different \u2014 but all come from the same root. Some people are afraid of contamination, some are obsessed with symmetry, and others experience mostly intrusive thoughts without visible rituals (the Pure-O type). But at the core, it\u2019s always about trying to control inner chaos through external actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>And yes \u2014 hyper-responsibility is the main fuel for OCD. It throws more logs into a fire that\u2019s already burning. It\u2019s not just about wanting to control everything \u2014 it\u2019s the belief that too much depends on you.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you don\u2019t check the stove \u2014 there\u2019ll be a fire, and it will be your fault. If you don\u2019t check the door \u2014 someone might break in. If you don\u2019t reread the contract \u2014 you\u2019ll let everyone down.\u201d Even if there\u2019s no real reason for the anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And because this sense of responsibility doesn\u2019t exactly feel unreasonable, the constant pressure to check things doesn\u2019t get questioned. That\u2019s why, even in ideal social environments with a well-developed mental health culture, it\u2019s hard for a person to recognize it as a problem in time. And over time, the habit becomes deeply ingrained \u2014 simply because of the sheer amount of time spent repeating the same checks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How is OCD treated?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>What should you do if you suspect OCD in yourself or someone close to you? It\u2019s important to understand: this is not a life sentence. And it\u2019s not a \u201cpersonality quirk.\u201d OCD can be treated. There are approaches \u2014 including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It\u2019s not magic, and it doesn\u2019t work overnight. But it can help you break out of the vicious cycle. There are exposure techniques, breathing practices, and self-help methods that support the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most important thing is to find a specialist who understands how obsessive-compulsive disorder works. Especially in Belarus, where many people worry whether it\u2019s safe to talk to a psychologist about political activity \u2014 or whether it\u2019s better to avoid certain topics that might be unsafe to mention. Because in today\u2019s reality, OCD or anxiety disorders can be triggered by the events of 2020 or their aftermath. And in such cases, not everything can be shared openly. This makes the psychologist\u2019s work more complicated \u2014 especially if they lack experience and aren\u2019t able to work solely based on what the client feels, without knowing the full story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although Slava hesitated for a long time before seeking help, that step became a turning point \u2014 though it only happened after he moved to Lithuania. In the upcoming episodes, we\u2019ll talk more about therapy, how specialists work with OCD or anxiety disorders, and what truly helps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Even if you\u2019re scared, unable to speak, or feel like no one will understand \u2014 that\u2019s not a reason to go through it alone.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/en\/health\/brief-02\/\">the next episode<\/a> of the Misery Shared Podcast, we\u2019ll take a closer look at treatment methods and personal experiences of overcoming OCD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to contact us but are afraid to use comments, you can send us an e-mail. After that it will be enough to delete your letter from the \u201cSent\u201d folder.<br>Our e-mail address is: <a href=\"mailto:help@belarus.fm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">help@belarus.fm<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cMisery Shared Podcast\u201d is an honest conversation about mental health. Its host, Slava, shares personal experiences of living with obsessive-compulsive disorder \u2014 not for shock value, but to explain what it really means to live with OCD. How it starts, why it\u2019s so hard to stop, and what happens if you let it spiral out [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":10337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[394],"tags":[352],"class_list":["post-10937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-audio-in-russian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/belarus.fm\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}