Macro-, and Micro-Compulsions: A Very Important Idea

Chris discusses a concept that is practical to cracking the code of OCD. Many of us approach OCD with stereotypes and assumptions. Part of what that means is that we think of compulsions as limited to checking, or counting, or washing, or whatever. But through the course of hundreds of cases, it has become clear that .compulsions extent far beyond these few, stereotypical possibilities. Many compulsions are unique to individuals: call them "quirks" or "idiosyncrasies." But many quirks that seem to appear when we're anxious - many things that we do to express our nervousness, like leg-bouncing for example, actually serve as anxiety-maintaining behaviors. These need to be stopped just the same as our stereotypical (macro) compulsions.

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