Staring OCD is a form of OCD that may not be as well known but follows the same pattern of other types of OCD. This subtype of OCD involves obsessions and compulsions focused on staring and feeling an inability to control staring. It may cause added difficulty in social situations, due to fear of others noticing the staring.
What is the best therapy for OCD?
Exposure And Response Prevention Therapy (ERP) – Do live video sessions with a therapist specialized in ERP, the gold standard treatment for OCD. Treatment from NOCD is covered by many insurance plans. Start With A Free 15 Minute Call
Why Can’t I Stop Staring?
There are multiple reasons that you may have trouble with staring, due to a variety of medical or mental health conditions. Some individuals may stare when they “zone out”, due to daydreaming or dissociating. In kids and teenagers, staring spells may signal a medical event known as an absent seizure.1 Finally, compulsive staring may be linked to staring OCD, a subtype of OCD in which an individual feels an urge or impulse to stare.
What Is Staring OCD?
Staring OCD involves obsessions and compulsions focused on staring at others. Obsessions may be fears about other people noticing the staring, feeling “weird” or “creepy” due to the staring, or worries about making someone feel uncomfortable. Compulsions in staring OCD are an involuntary urge to stare at others, such as staring at specific body parts of private areas. This behavior is experienced as an unwanted and intrusive urge, not an intentional act.
This subtype of OCD has also been called Ocular Tourettic OCD, to more fully describe the involuntary nature of the staring compulsions.2 Staring OCD may also produce or exacerbate social anxiety, due to the fear that others will see the staring. This can make it difficult for an individual with staring OCD to be with others in social situations.
OCD is characterized by:
- Obsessions: Obsessions are recurring, intrusive thoughts that are unwanted and uncontrollable. They typically cause a high amount of distress and anxiety for the person experiencing them when they occur.
- Compulsions: Compulsions are repetitive behaviors that someone with OCD feels driven to do in order to reduce the distress that obsessions cause. These behaviors can take the form of observable actions others can see or mental compulsions that are unseen.
Staring OCD & Checking OCD
For some individuals, compulsive staring may be related to checking OCD. For example, while performing a checking compulsion, an individual may stare at the object of their checking obsession for an extended period of time. This may be an attempt to further reassure themselves while they are engaging in a checking compulsion.
Symptoms of Staring OCD
Staring OCD typically has symptoms of OCD that you would see in other subtypes, such as a cyclical pattern of obsessions and compulsions. In this subtype, the content of obsessions and compulsions is focused on staring and fears of people seeing them stare or being unable to stop staring.
Common obsessions in staring OCD include:
- What if I can never stop staring?
- Are other people noticing my staring?
- What if I am making someone uncomfortable?
- Did that person see me stare?
- What if people think I am being weird or creepy?
Common compulsions in staring OCD include:
- Staring at an individual’s genitals for an extended period
- Avoiding public places
- Staring at an individual’s physical disability
- Avoiding eye contact
- Closing your eyes entirely to avoid staring
How much do you know about OCD?
Take This 11-Question OCD Quiz From NOCD. If you or a loved one are struggling with OCD, NOCD provides convenient, affordable, and effective OCD treatment covered by most major insurance plans.
What Triggers Staring OCD Symptoms?
This subtype of OCD is typically triggered while around others. Being in crowded public places can be a trigger, as well as places where more revealing clothing is worn such as a beach or pool. Because the compulsions in this subtype center around staring, social situations can be a significant trigger.
Common triggers for staring OCD include:
- Overhearing someone talking about when they experienced someone “creepy” staring at them
- Social situations
- Crowded, public places
- Places where more revealing clothing is worn, such as a beach or pool
What Causes Staring OCD?
Researchers have identified several potential causes for OCD. Genetics appear to play a role, particularly if you have an immediate family member who has it.3 Environmental factors, such as exposure to traumatic events have been explored as risk factors for OCD.4 Neuroimaging has also observed differences in the brains of those with OCD.
Causes of OCD include:
- Genetics: Genes have been shown to play a role in OCD, especially if a parent or sibling has it. Genetics are not the sole cause for having OCD and protective factors may be able to mediate this.
- Environmental factors: Different environmental factors have been shown to be correlated with OCD, such as birth complications, experiencing traumatic events, or experiencing many life stressors all at once.
- Brain differences: Neuroimaging has shown that there may be difficulties in communication between the front part of the brain and deeper structures of the brain in individuals with OCD. Neurotransmitters such as serotonin, which are involved in sending messages between brain cells, can also be impacted in the brains of people with OCD.5
Impacts of Staring OCD
Staring OCD may have impacts socially and professionally. In social situations, staring OCD can be debilitating due to the anxiety that accompanies it and fears around other people noticing the staring. In the workplace, particularly in a job that has a high amount of interaction with others, staring OCD can lead to added difficulties and concerns about being viewed as inappropriate towards others.
How Is Staring OCD Diagnosed?
OCD and its subtypes, staring OCD included, can be diagnosed by a mental health professional, such as a therapist, psychiatrist, or psychologist. It is helpful to seek out a provider who has prior experience with diagnosing and treating OCD. The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) is often administered to assess for OCD and is considered the gold standard assessment to use.
Questions to ask your doctor about staring OCD include:
- Where can I find specialized OCD treatment?
- What does a typical treatment plan look like for staring OCD?
- How long does treatment typically take?
- What type of therapy is recommended for OCD?
Treatment for OCD
OCD treatment typically involves working with a therapist and/or taking medication. Exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP) has been extensively studied as an effective treatment for OCD and is typically the recommended treatment for staring OCD. ERP has been found to be the most effective treatment in research thus far, however, other treatment approaches may also be used, such as EMDR, ACT, and mindfulness-based CBT.
Treatment For OCD
NOCD: Online OCD Treatment Covered By Insurance – Regain your life from OCD. Do live video sessions with a licensed therapist specialized in treating OCD. Treatment from NOCD is covered by most major insurance plans. Learn how you can use your insurance benefits. Visit NOCD
Talkiatry: Is OCD Medication Right For You? Speak with A Doctor – Talkiatry can match you with a psychiatrist who takes your insurance and is accepting new patients. They’re in-network with major insurers and offer medication management with supportive therapy. Free Assessment
In some cases, psychiatric medications may be recommended in combination with therapy to manage symptoms of OCD. As mentioned above, staring OCD can produce a high amount of distress, particularly in social situations, which some individuals may want to manage with medication. A psychiatrist can help recommend medications most effective for your OCD symptoms, based on your needs and history.
Treatment options for staring OCD include:
- Exposure and response prevention (ERP): Exposure and response prevention for OCD involves completing exposures that provoke the feared obsessive thought, without engaging in compulsive staring behaviors during the exposure.
- Medications: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), also known as antidepressants, have been used most frequently in treating OCD. There are a variety of SSRIs used to treat OCD, such as Luvox, Prozac, Paxil and more.6
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT for OCD focuses on the link between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. CBT for staring OCD attempts to break the link between obsessive thoughts and compulsive staring behaviors that produce distress.
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR for OCD approach can be particularly helpful if the onset of staring OCD symptoms can be traced back to a highly stressful or traumatic event. EMDR works to decrease distress rooted in prior events that are contributing to present-day distress, therefore decreasing symptoms of OCD.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT for OCD aims to increase psychological flexibility and explores other ways to respond to distress caused by obsessive thoughts other than compulsive staring. ACT emphasizes letting an obsession pass and choosing a different response aside from compulsive behaviors.
- Mindfulness-based CBT: Mindfulness-based CBT encourages letting intrusive thoughts come and go, without making judgments or the need to act on them. By taking an observational stance to these thoughts, the drive to engage in compulsions can dissipate.
6 Tips for Coping With Staring OCD
Staring OCD can be distracting as you are trying to go through daily life, especially while around others. Developing healthy coping mechanisms for staring OCD, in addition to seeking out treatment, is important in overcoming OCD.
Here are six tips for coping with staring OCD:
- Identify triggers: Start to improve your awareness of what tends to trigger your staring OCD. Each person is unique in their experience – what OCD triggers bring up your staring compulsions?
- Journal about identified triggers: Keeping track of the triggers you identify can be beneficial in the process. Reflecting on the emotions surrounding these triggers in a journal or using journal prompts for mental health may be helpful as well.
- Labeling it as OCD: Staring OCD may bring up judgment towards yourself. Rather than sinking into these negative thoughts towards yourself, when the urge to stare occurs, recognize and state to yourself “this is my OCD wanting me to stare”.
- Learn new skills to cope: Using coping skills for OCD such as mindfulness or deep breathing can be beneficial to calm the anxiety that accompanies OCD.
- Practice urge surfing: The urge to engage in a compulsion typically happens like a wave – it will rise, hit a peak, and then fall as time goes on. By being able to ride out the wave of the urge to engage in compulsive staring, this can help reduce this behavior.
- Delay the behavior: When you encounter a trigger that leads to a staring compulsion, try to delay this behavior as long as you can. Engage in a different activity that is distracting instead and can allow you to take your mind off the compulsion.
When to Seek Professional Support
It is important to seek support for staring OCD, particularly if you have started to notice it impact your ability to function. Staring OCD can be a hindrance in a variety of settings, such as the workplace or social settings. A helpful place to start is through the NOCD online platform or by searching for a mental health professional is an online therapist directory, specifically filtering for individuals who treat OCD. For those who prefer to seek therapy at home, using an online therapy platform that specializes in treating OCD can be beneficial as well.
In My Experience
Additional Resources
To help our readers take the next step in their mental health journey, Choosing Therapy has partnered with leaders in mental health and wellness. Choosing Therapy is compensated for marketing by the companies included below.
OCD Therapy
NOCD: Effective, Affordable, & Convenient OCD Therapy Do live, face-to-face video sessions with a therapist who specializes in treating OCD and get 24/7 support between sessions. NOCD is covered by many insurance plans and is available nationwide. Visit NOCD
Treatment From An Online Psychiatrist
Talkiatry OCD is treatable. Talkiatry specializes in OCD and provides personalized care with medication and additional support. Get started with a short assessment.
OCD Community - Free To Join!
Join others who are overcoming OCD. Participate anonymously. Find support, connect, and overcome challenges with us. The community is managed by NOCD. Join The Community
OCD Newsletter
A free newsletter from Choosing Therapy for those impacted by OCD. Get helpful tips and the latest information. Sign-Up
What to know when finding a therapist for OCD
With so much information out there regarding providers and treatment options for obsessive compulsive disorder, it can be hard to know exactly where to start—especially when you have to consider everything from the type of provider to the different treatment methods, as well as how you’ll fit it into your busy schedule.
Can OCD make it hard to make decisions?
From choosing what to wear in the morning to picking what to eat for dinner, decision-making is a part of everyone’s daily routine. But for millions of people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), making any choice can feel like a daunting, sometimes impossible task.