[midnight_blue]

I read Brainlock and found the four-step method useful. However, I sometimes can't figure out whether my fear is real or just OCD. If it's just OCD, I can use the method to deal with it. But what if it's not? What if it's something I SHOULD worry about? I fear that I would mistake a real fear as OCD and cause terrible consequence. So my question is, how can you tell it is really OCD instead of legitimate worries?

[Perna]

You shouldn't "worry" about anything. Worry happens about future potential problems and we should be only dealing with what is right in front of us, right now.

Give an example of something you think maybe you should worry about? (Think about that for a minute: "Should" I worry about X" -- it sounds "funny.") If you have an actual problem, you work to solve it. You can't have a problem in the "future" ("What if I get robbed tonight?"), even in the "present" future (it is "tonight") because it hasn't happened yet and probably won't. We can't tell the future so we have to let things "happen" and then work to help the ones we don't like.

Worrying you'll flunk a test can be "fixed" by study now, before the test but no worrying or studying can fix that an hour before the test so it's just wasted energy to worry. Being afraid of ticks and wanting to go for a walk in the woods; you wear socks and long sleeves and a cap. Figure out what any "problem" is, whether real or OCD-created and figure out how to solve it.

[Taipans]

Perna made a very good point!

From the post alone it shows signs of OCD, just worrying so much over if you even have it means you tend to be obsessive over things. Not that its to a dangerous or life altering level. But as Perna said, try to think of things that do make you worry and see if they are reasonable things constantly worry about. If your not sure, post them up and I'm sure we can all take a crack at it. =)