Random OCD Downside I Just Learned (Which May Actually Be Helpful?)

As if putting abhorrent thoughts and images into your head wasn’t enough, OCD apparently can also lead to spatial memory deficiencies (source). I am not sure if it directly causes it or if just the presence of OCD inhibits the actual proper process from occurring. Whatever the answer, I just learned about this and am frankly pretty annoyed with OCD in this moment. Haven’t you put us all through enough OCD? And now I know my own OCD will try to exacerbate this idea and make me believe that I have no spatial memory whatsoever. So, if you have struggles with OCD and also have always had difficulties in remembering the exact route to get somewhere or how to get back to the place you just left, well then you can blame OCD.

But in the end, while I know this post started off a bit doom and gloomy, I do think this information is a minor irritant rather than a major one. Not only will many people with OCD not have spatial memory problems, but also in the age of GPS, we never have to remember how to get places anyways. So this aspect of our brain doesn’t seem like the most important, and like I have discussed in previous posts, there are probably other areas in which an OCD mindset can potentially help us. So, in fact, my whole thought process with this new information was actually a microcosm of the OCD process itself. Information my OCD mind tells me I need to worry about arises, and then rather than worrying about it and making it worse, I am able to treat the idea as an inconsequential one by taking a step back and just allowing the anxiety to be there and eventually dissipate. So I guess I have to thank past me from 30 minutes ago as without his random Wikipedia searching, I wouldn’t have learned another valuable OCD lesson.