OCD staring / eye contact / peripheral vision

Hi Tyler

I had this problem too, now thankfully not anymore.The best solution that will work for you is by convincing your brain not look at a different body part. When you are trying hard not to look at people’s private parts, you are consumed with this thought, you keep telling yourself in your head not to stare at certain body parts. Instead tell yourself in your head to stop staring at the nose ‘don’t stare at the nose’ keep repeating this. Practice by looking at pictures online of for instance women showing cleavage. Also in video’s, movies. Do this as well when you are alone outside, restaurant, subway etc. Do this excessively, every day. After a couple of months you will not think of it again. Goodluck

Hi @samurai9

Thanks for the post .

I’ve tried all these sort of ideas years ago .along with all available treatments (CBT, exposure therapies etc) and medications including 5 weeks in hospital for TMS treatment

I do an open eyed meditation every night before bed that helps a little

,If I had of attacked the OCD when I was 14 ( I’m now 46) I may have had a better chance of reducing the symptoms . I unfortunately have comprbidity adhd and TS behaviours which dont help either . It’s a 24 hour thing that the OCD is the main thing but the TS comes in when it feels like it and the adhd keeps the thinking on a constant level. They all work to sabotage any chance of behaving as I would like ie like a ‘normal” person .

The general peripheral vision issue is the main problem for me . The staring thing was the first manifestation of the OCD ( in high school )and was more of an issue when I was a lot younger .The constant visual flicking back and forward of my eyes whenever anything or anyone (mostly involves people )moves within my peripheral vision is the main drama .

When this peripheral eye flicking is not as pronounced a different version of ocd tales it’s place (ie a funny drunken type of walking , obsessing on my breathing, and a few other annoying and. Embarrassing behaviours .

Thanks again for post .appreciate it :

take care

Hi,

I am new to this forum. I've been desperately searching for a way out of this peripheral ocd thing all over google for months but in vain. I saw that this one's still active. So, I have choosen to post this one here...

Hi @Pathfinder,

Welcome to the Forum. I hope you find it a supportive place.

Thanks for posting this insight you found. As I'm sure you've discovered, different things work for different people. It looks like you are trying really hard to make life better for yourself, and by posting this, for others as well.

Just a quick tip, if you ever want to tag someone in or notify anyone of a post, place an @ before their name, as in @Pathfinder.

All the best

Joe The Lion

Hello! I have just joined this forum and your reply seems to helo a lot. Infact I have tried this method for a while now, and although there is progress, eventually there are days when I buckle up again. It would really help if you could suggest some additional methods to cope with this problem

Hi @Peppycat,

Assuming you are referring to the squinhing that I talked about in my first post, it feels great to know that it helped. Thanks for letting me know. Unfortunately, I do not know of any other method as yet. I am still trying to figure something out, as we all are. That's why we need to colaborate and share anything that may have worked for any of us. It feels like this thing has put my life in a concentration camp. But I believe in the end we will win over this thing and get our lives back.

Also, could you please specify situations where squinching failed to work; or it still caused others to be suspicious that you might be trying to steal a stare? And if you find anything that works please post it here.

Take care.

I'm suffering from ocd staring too since 2007.I would like to know what medication are you taking?I haven't taken any medication because the place where I lived are not familiar with this type ocd.Please let me know what type of medication are you taking thanks.

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@Tyler01 wrote:

Hi there

This is my first post . I'll try an

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@Tyler01 wrote:

Hi there

This is my first post . I'll try and make it brief.

I've had OCD for 30 years now and it involves constant visual distractions. I am always trying NOT to look at inappropriate (private) parts when talking to people and also my peripheral vison (eyes flicking back and forward) with people in the corner of my vision.

The peripheral vision problem may involve being distracted by people whenever they come into my field of view e.g at a cafe I must either face a wall where I can't see anybody or put an arm up to shield my eyes.

I remember the exact day in school (year 9) I was sitting in Geography class watching a documentary on the television and casually glanced at the crutch of the guy sitting to the right of me. I thought in my head that 'you can't look there!' and ever since that moment my staring/peripheral vision OCD has made life a struggle ever since.

As far as therapies are concerned , you name it and I have defintiely tried it, from psychiatrists to spiritual healers and all of the medications that that you can poke a stick at.

I had a break from traditional treatments for quite a number of years and tried the natural healing side of things, with the occasional visit to my GP for SRI scripts. At one stage I was borderline ready to give up on living entirely.

As a last resort I decided to reconnect with my psychiatrist to see if anything new regarding treatments had popped up. He told me there were not alot of options apart from the usual SRI medications .

Almost as an aside he mentioned that ADHD was closely related to OCD and that there can often be a combination of the two.

He told me there have been some success stories with the use of PRESCIBED STIMULANTS for some types of OCD. I was asked if I wanted to give it a try and after thinking about it for half a second I said 'yes'.

The following day I popped the new medication into my mouth and had my early morning walk with the dogs.

Roughly an hour later I noticed something I hadn't felt in 30 years.

Another dog walker was approaching and usually I would have strolled in the other direction as the thoughts and anxiety would overwhelm me.

But something had changed. It was as if an intencity volume switch had been turned down inside my head. I was able to make much better eye contact and felt a new internal confidence .

The level of intencity with the OCD thoughts had diminished quite a bit.

I have continued taking dthe stimulants everyday (morning and lunchtimes) ,I do not feel like I am on any medications at all, (not like some I have had in the past)

The new STIMULANT has helped my OCD more than any other medication.

I would say that the improvement is 50 to 60 % better, life is easier then it has been for many years.

I guess you could say the stimulant helps with the less intense OCD inducing environments ie going to the shops, walking in the park and general day to day engagements involving people.

Just thought I'd better let eveybody out there who suffers from a similar form of OCD that this new treatment helps me a lot and maybe it can help them also. I could not mention the name of the medication directly as per the rules of this forum.

Thanks and good luck

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it brief.

I've had OCD for 30 years now and it involves constant visual distractions. I am always trying NOT to look at inappropriate (private) parts when talking to people and also my peripheral vison (eyes flicking back and forward) with people in the corner of my vision.

The peripheral vision problem may involve being distracted by people whenever they come into my field of view e.g at a cafe I must either face a wall where I can't see anybody or put an arm up to shield my eyes.

I remember the exact day in school (year 9) I was sitting in Geography class watching a documentary on the television and casually glanced at the crutch of the guy sitting to the right of me. I thought in my head that 'you can't look there!' and ever since that moment my staring/peripheral vision OCD has made life a struggle ever since.

As far as therapies are concerned , you name it and I have defintiely tried it, from psychiatrists to spiritual healers and all of the medications that that you can poke a stick at.

I had a break from traditional treatments for quite a number of years and tried the natural healing side of things, with the occasional visit to my GP for SRI scripts. At one stage I was borderline ready to give up on living entirely.

As a last resort I decided to reconnect with my psychiatrist to see if anything new regarding treatments had popped up. He told me there were not alot of options apart from the usual SRI medications .

Almost as an aside he mentioned that ADHD was closely related to OCD and that there can often be a combination of the two.

He told me there have been some success stories with the use of PRESCIBED STIMULANTS for some types of OCD. I was asked if I wanted to give it a try and after thinking about it for half a second I said 'yes'.

The following day I popped the new medication into my mouth and had my early morning walk with the dogs.

Roughly an hour later I noticed something I hadn't felt in 30 years.

Another dog walker was approaching and usually I would have strolled in the other direction as the thoughts and anxiety would overwhelm me.

But something had changed. It was as if an intencity volume switch had been turned down inside my head. I was able to make much better eye contact and felt a new internal confidence .

The level of intencity with the OCD thoughts had diminished quite a bit.

I have continued taking dthe stimulants everyday (morning and lunchtimes) ,I do not feel like I am on any medications at all, (not like some I have had in the past)

The new STIMULANT has helped my OCD more than any other medication.

I would say that the improvement is 50 to 60 % better, life is easier then it has been for many years.

I guess you could say the stimulant helps with the less intense OCD inducing environments ie going to the shops, walking in the park and general day to day engagements involving people.

Just thought I'd better let eveybody out there who suffers from a similar form of OCD that this new treatment helps me a lot and maybe it can help them also. I could not mention the name of the medication directly as per the rules of this forum.

Thanks and good luck

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Hi @honeybee123,

Welcome to the forums, it's great that you have come along and reached out for support.

Unfortunately, as part of our guidelines here members cannot mention or disclose specific medications in the forums for safety reasons. It is important that you continue to reach out to your GP or health professional about the best options for medications.

Hi rejee ,

PLEASE REPLY ON THIS . I AM ON THE SAME BOAT

Very good to hear that you have almost defeated your ocd. I have been suffering from staring ocd for past 4 years . Initially , I took medicines and it got cured so easily and quickly . I was so happy that I had found the solution which once was looking something monstrous .I took the medicines for 1 year and then stop taking medicines . I was fine for 3 months , then my ocd came and hit me again . I again started medicine and the problem was gone . Then for 1 year I took medicines , then after that I again stopped taking medicines . For 1 year after that , I was fine . Then , suddenly ocd came again . But this time , I was adamant that I won't be taking medicines , I needed solution other than medicines . It affected me , but I have found some ways which I have seen on posts and internet . Onething is ERP , but the problem is ..ERP says that you should face your fears . In my case , as you told I would have little problems if I have to use this with girls other than my relatives as I know if by chance , my eyes goes down to see their boobs .I will manage .But the problem is when I face me relatives , my mom , real sister , cousins . I cannot afford the embarrassment there as that would vanish everything . And one more problem , when a girl adjusts.her top , sometime because of other reasons , my mind start thinking that she is doing because of me which further aggravates those thoughts and next time I try to escape that girl .I can be very very strong but I need to overcome.this problem without medication

Hi @Mayank,

Although you won't be able to tell the exact medication that helped you, as per forum guidelines, can you at least share what class of medication it was? Was it anxiolytics like benzo, or SSRI, or some supplement? Thanks.