Need help with Yawning OCD (can’t tolerate it) :(

[everestchris6]

I already posted about this a few weeks ago and i got a good reply which got deleted, so im trying again . I have been suffering with Sensorimotor OCD since 2021. I feel like i have overcome most of the OCS’s like Blinking, Breathing, Salivating etc… but now im suffering with Yawning OCD since 3-4 months and it’s a living hell, i just don’t get how to deal with it. Should i stop myself from Yawning? It’s like an urge to yawn 24/7 and I yaw the second i give into it. I’ll forever be grateful for any type of help/advice, Thank you!

[deValentin]

Sensorimotor OCD is a real bother. Sensorimotor functions are supposed to be automatic. So, when they attract one's full attention, they dysregulate. Myself I became obsessed with salivating and swallowing for a few weeks, and the more I became absorbed by it, the less I could stop salivating and swallowing. A vicious cycle. You probably know about the pink elephant paradox: the more you try to drive a thought away, the less you’re able to do it. So, I decided to stop fighting that obsession and let my thoughts drift to other interests. It has to happen on its own. You cannot force it. It’s like falling asleep. When I made that decision, the obsessive thought and ceaseless motion eventually disappeared. For a while, I was afraid it’ll come back. If the fear it may return comes to my awareness, I do nothing. I neither fight it nor dwell on it. I know it’s the attention to sensorimotor functions that makes them hyperactive. When my attention spontaneously turns to other matters, the problem is solved. It could be months before I become aware the problem is solved because the issue doesn’t enter my mind anymore. Faith in normal bodily functioning is restored, and sensorimotor functions return to the background where they're meant to stay. It was at least my experience. I wish you the same recovery.

[everestchris6 in reply to deValentin]

Thank you