Take this at your own pace.
Use the timeframe described on this page and choose the answer that feels closest. You can stop whenever you want.
Your answers are ready to reflect on.
This is a record of what you selected, not a score or clinical interpretation.
You selected an answer other than “Never” for thoughts of death or self-harm. Please tell someone you trust and contact a verified crisis service now. If you may act soon, call local emergency services or go to the nearest emergency department. Find crisis support.
If any answer involves immediate danger, abuse, or an inability to stay safe, use urgent local support now.
Make the repeating OCD cycle visible.
OCD involves unwanted obsessions and compulsions or rituals used to reduce distress. The relief is often temporary, which can reinforce the cycle. Intrusive thoughts do not by themselves reveal a person’s values or intentions.
The links that keep the cycle going
The prompts are an observation aid. They cannot establish a diagnosis, severity category, cause, or treatment recommendation.
The CBT explainer shows how thoughts, distress, rituals, avoidance, and short-term consequences can form a reinforcing cycle.
| Area | What to notice | Useful detail to record |
|---|---|---|
| Obsessions | Unwanted thoughts, images, sensations, doubts, or urges | Triggers, themes, and distress—not graphic detail |
| Compulsions | Visible actions or mental rituals used to neutralize fear | Rules, repetition, and temporary relief |
| Avoidance | People, places, objects, or information avoided | What the avoidance prevents you from doing |
| Time and impact | Time consumed and interference with life | A rough daily range and disrupted routines |
Follow what happens after the doubt
The same answer can mean different things depending on timing, health, safety, environment, and what is typical for you.
Use the first-session guide to ask directly about OCD experience, exposure-based treatment, consent, goals, and progress review.
- What ritual or reassurance follows the intrusive experience?
- How long does relief last before doubt returns?
- Which family members or friends are being pulled into reassurance or rituals?
Describe the cycle without defending the thought
A clinician or support person can respond more clearly when you bring specific examples instead of trying to summarize your entire life.
For a private shortlist of access needs and provider questions, open the care-search workspace .
- Describe the obsession–distress–ritual–relief cycle.
- Ask about evidence-based, exposure-focused OCD treatment experience.
- Name any safety, depression, or self-harm concerns separately.
Map one obsession–compulsion loop
These fields remain in this browser page and are never submitted. Clear them before leaving a shared device.
When OCD-informed treatment may help
Seek an OCD-informed clinician when rituals, avoidance, or reassurance consume significant time or restrict daily life. Do not deliberately confront severe fears alone if the process feels unsafe or destabilizing.
If there is immediate danger, abuse, severe physical symptoms, or an inability to stay safe, use urgent local help now rather than waiting to complete this page.
Sources and scope
This educational material uses the institutional overviews below as starting points. Those sources do not validate this original check-in, and the check-in does not reproduce or score a clinical instrument.