What Exactly Is a Mental Compulsion?

A compulsion is any action taken to reduce the distress caused by an intrusive thought (an obsession) or to prevent a feared outcome. While a behavioral compulsion involves your hands or feet, a mental compulsion is an active, intentional process occurring in your mind.

Common examples of mental compulsions include:

• Mental Review: Replaying past events repeatedly to “check” if you did something wrong or caused harm.

• Rumination: Attempting to solve unanswerable philosophical questions or “what if” scenarios to find a sense of certainty.

• Mental Rehearsal: Practicing future conversations or events to ensure they go perfectly and safely.

• Self-Flagellation: Repeatedly berating yourself as a strategy to “ensure” you never make a mistake again.

The difficulty with these behaviors is that they feel like problem-solving. It feels like if you just think about the issue for five more minutes, you will find the “answer” that finally makes the anxiety stop.

The Difference Between Thoughts and Thinking

A major hurdle in recovery is distinguishing between an obsession and a compulsion.

• Obsessions (Thoughts): These are automatic, intrusive internal experiences. They “pop” into your head without your permission.

• Compulsions (Thinking): This is the active process. This is what you do with the thought once it arrives.

Think of it this way: 1 + 1 = 2 is a rote, automatic thought for most adults. However, calculating the square root of 523,446 requires an active, intentional mental process. Mental compulsions are like that calculation; they require your effort, agency, and attention.

Why Mental Compulsions Keep You Stuck

Mental compulsions are uniquely challenging because they require no equipment and can be performed anywhere at any time. You can be at a dinner party or in a business meeting while your brain is desperately trying to solve a scenario from three years ago.

The problem is that this “solving” actually re-triggers the anxiety. Every time you engage with the thought to find certainty, you prove to your brain that the thought is a threat. This creates an echo chamber where the more you think, the more uncertain you become.

Shifting Toward Recovery

Recovery is not about stopping intrusive thoughts from happening. It is about learning to stop the compulsive thinking that follows them.

This work is based on the principle of psychological flexibility. Using frameworks like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and mindfulness, we learn to observe the thought without immediately jumping into the “solving” mode. We acknowledge the presence of the thought and the discomfort it brings, but we choose to move our attention back to the present moment.

This is difficult because it requires you to sit with uncertainty. It means letting the “what if” question go unanswered and refusing to consult your mind for reassurance.

Practical Steps to Stop the Loop

1. Develop Non-Judgmental Awareness: Start noticing when your mind has drifted into “solving” mode. Label it simply as “thinking” or “rumination” rather than a helpful action.
2. Shift Your Attention: When you catch yourself compulsing, gently bring your attention back to the conversation you are having or the task you are performing.
3. Accept the Discomfort: Recognize that you feel real fear, but you are not in real danger. The goal is to be with the difficult internal experience rather than trying to control or prevent it.

Recovery involves taking small, brave leaps of faith. Every time you choose not to answer a mental “what if,” you are reclaiming your life from the cycle of anxiety.

Find Lauren Rosen Online:

• Instagram
• Lauren’s Website
• The Mental Compulsions Workbook for OCD

Links Of Interest

• Disordered – With Josh Fletcher
• My Substack
• Find my “Practical Mindfulness for Anxiety Recovery” Groups
• Low cost anxiety/recovery educational workshops
• The Books I’ve Written on Anxiety and Recovery
• Follow me on Instagram
• My YouTube Channel

Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.