Relationship OCD, also known as Relationship Substantiation or ROCD, is a subset of OCD in which sufferers are consumed with doubts about their relationship, their attraction to their partner, their compatibility with their partner and their partner’s love for them. Having doubts or concerns about your partner is normal
What is Relationship OCD (ROCD)?
Common Relationship OCD obsessions
- Obsessing
- Second guessing your love for your partner
- Research
- Comparison
- Endless reflection
- Seeking passion
- Always looking for love
- Creating rules for your partners
- Getting caught up in the idea of finding the one
Treatment for Relationship OCD almost always involves you and your partner
Best treated with Exposure Response Prevention Therapy (ERP): expose yourself to the source of your fear over and over again, without acting out any compulsion to neutralize or stop the fear.
- Examples: Having an open dialogue with your partner, educating your partner on OCD and ROCD so they can be a better support system for you, and joking around during sexual intimacy.
Can medication help?
Medication can help alongside ERP, but it shouldn’t replace it.
- The main family of medicines used to treat OCD are known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).
- SSRIs enhance your natural serotonin activity and are used in major depressive disorders and anxiety conditions.
How Do I Know it’s OCD?
For people who do have OCD, these thoughts can be debilitating, causing extreme anxiety and discomfort.
- Having intrusive thoughts does not make you a bad person. They are a misfiring in the brain, not a reflection of your character.
What is the goal of therapy?
When people recover from ROCD, they’re capable of engaging in the natural complexities of relationships
How can my family help with my Relationship OCD?
Involving your family in therapy can be a good way to help them understand the do’s and don’ts of the disorder, and create a game plan for helping you at home
