Introduction
Oxford Dictionary defines obsessions as (n) 1. the state of being completely preoccupied with one particular thing or person in a way that is not reasonable or normal (Oxford University Press, 2023).
Obsessive thoughts make a person very anxious and interfere with their daily life. These thoughts take up a major part of the day. Most of the time, the person may be aware of their obsession but not able to control it, which could even lead to compulsive behaviors or rituals.
What is Unhealthy Obsessions?
DSM 5 defines Obsessions:
- Recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive, unwanted, and that in most individuals cause marked anxiety or distress (American Psychological Association, 2022).
- The individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, urges, or images or to neutralize them with some thought or action (i.e., by performing a compulsion) (American Psychological Association, 2022). These obsessions or compulsions are time-consuming (e.g., take more than 1 hour per day) or cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning (American Psychological Association, 2022).
These are repeated thoughts or urges that interfere with the everyday working of a person and cause significant anxiety, leading to social and occupational disturbances. They often become overwhelming for a person. At times, this leads to compulsive behaviors or rituals that a person needs to perform in order to reduce the associated anxiety/stress. These intrusive thoughts can lower self-esteem and cause emotional and socio-occupational distress. These obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors can become chronic and lead to disability.
5 Signs of Unhealthy Obsessions
- Neglecting Personal Life: You are spending an excessive amount of your time, energy, resources, or money following your obsessions, neglecting other aspects of your life, such as work, family, friends, or yourself.
- Unhealthy Symptoms: Sweating, palpitations, restlessness, disturbed sleep, angry outbursts, feeling sad, and irritability are commonly seen.
- Compulsive Behaviors: Engaging in compulsive behaviors or rituals to reduce the anxiety associated with obsessive thoughts could be harmful or dangerous.
- Unable To Do Other Activities: Due to persistent preoccupation with thoughts, the person is unable to perform other activities.
- Reduced Social Interaction: Decreased social interaction with friends and family and loss of interest in hobbies.
Unhealthy Obsessions Examples
- Being overly concerned about contamination results in excessive and frequent handwashing or bathing. It can also be associated with frequent washing or cleaning of home or clothes more than required.
- Being over-possessive about any one particular family member or friend. Excess of concern about harm to self or others.
- Some people are obsessed with their looks. They can undergo any procedure, even surgery, to achieve a perfect youthful appearance.
- People, especially young adults or teenagers, are overly obsessive or preoccupied with their social media image. They become so preoccupied with their social image that they neglect other aspects of life.
- Even after the decline of the pandemic, many people are still obsessed with excessive cleanliness and sanitation, which can result in various skin conditions. Continuously watch news channels for any news related to the pandemic or any other viruses or illnesses.
- Some may be preoccupied with symmetry and keep looking for symmetry or patterns in everything they do. If they fail to see a pattern or symmetry, they become anxious and start again.
Unhealthy Love Obsessions
Falling in love with someone is like a bed of roses until you start obsessing over them. Although love obsession alone is not an actual diagnosis, the following signs should be taken as red flags to seek professional help.
- Unhealthy love obsession comes when your obsession/ intrusive thoughts force you to divert all your energies toward only one person.
- You will find yourself only thinking about that person, which will result in neglecting your other social or work-related commitments.
- There is always a fear that the person will leave you if you agree to everything that person asks and hide your emotions.
- There are times when this obsession can lead to an extent where you might not respect the other person’s boundaries and always be with them, thinking they might cheat you.
- You might prioritize that person over other family members or friends.
- Always check/spy on that person by following their social media handles.
Important Tips to Overcome Unhealthy Obsessions
- Distract yourself: Try to focus on other things. This could be as simple as going out for a walk or jogging while listening to your favorite music.
- Hobby: Pick up a hobby that you had enjoyed doing before.
- Set Goals: Set goals for yourself and try to focus on taking small steps towards reaching them, such as learning a new skill to upgrade your work.
- Do a digital detox: Keep your gadgets away. Instead, being on social media spend quality time with your friends, family and pets.
- Communication: Open your channels of communication with your family and friends.
- Professional Help: Sometimes, the obsessive thoughts could be because of underlying fear or anxiety in a relationship or due to some events in the past. Seek professional help for the same.
- Mindfulness: Practise mindfulness: try to focus on the present while doing breathing exercises.
When the above signs/ symptoms start interfering in your daily life to the extent that you cannot focus or do anything else, seek professional help.
Conclusion
Psychoeducation about the illness is the first step toward healing. Like any physical illness that requires treatment, mental illness also needs treatment. With appropriate and timely treatment for obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors, the quality of life improves for a person. There are various modalities available for treatment, ranging from psychological/pharmacological modalities. There is no harm or shame in asking for help from either your family or friends or even mental health professionals.
References
- Oxford University Press (December 2023). Obsession. In Oxford English Dictionary revised March 2024.
- American Psychological Association, 2022. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (300.3F43). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed., text rev.)
