Compulsive Googling and OCD
Concerned that your google searches are becoming excessive? Dr. Holly Betterly MD, Board-Certified Psychiatrist in Weston, FL, provides an overview of Compulsive Googling, a common compulsion experienced by people living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
This post is provided for educational purposes only, and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. If you have questions, always reach out to your doctor for more information.
Struggling with your mental health? Reach out for professional support. Dr. Betterly is a board-certified psychiatrist in Weston, FL dedicated to helping you overcome depression, anxiety, and OCD. She offers appointments at her office in Weston, FL, conveniently located in Weston Town Center, as well as via telehealth for patients across Florida. Request an appointment today to start your journey to better mental health.
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If you find yourself using Google search on a daily basis, you’re not alone. In fact, Google reports processing over eight billion searches per day! The internet can provide instant answers to the multitude of questions that arise throughout everyday life, whether it be finding the directions to a restaurant, the phone number for our doctor’s office, or the order of the planets in our solar system. For many people, Google serves as an invaluable tool for expanding their knowledge and obtaining important information. For others, particularly those with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, it can turn into a problematic compulsion.
To explain compulsive googling, let’s start off with an example.
Your alarm goes off in the morning, and as you open your eyes, you notice that you have a headache. You remember reading somewhere that headaches can be a sign of a brain tumor- what if you have a brain tumor? You need to get showered and dressed for work, but this is urgent, so you decide that your morning routine must wait.
You open up Google and begin to search for an answer to whether your headache may be a sign of cancer. The search results seem to show that while a headache could be a symptom of brain cancer, it could also be a sign of dehydration, poor sleep, or a number of different medical conditions. You find the lack of a definitive answer unsatisfying, and consider that maybe you’re just using the wrong search terms. You try your search again, this time with more specificity, but the results are more of the same vagueness.
Your search continues, diving deeper down the rabbit hole. You begin repeating past searches, meticulously combing through pages of results just in case you missed the answer the first time around. Before you know it, you glance at the time and notice that you’re late for work.
You still don’t have an answer to your question, and now in addition to your initial doubts about whether you may have cancer, you’re feeling worked up, distressed, and anxious. You know you need to get moving to avoid getting written up by your boss, but you can’t help but try a few more Google searches.
Defining Compulsive Googling
Compulsive googling involves engaging in excessive, repetitive internet searching behavior driven by feelings of anxiety or distress.
It’s important to note that finding relief from anxiety isn’t necessarily your conscious intent in performing searches. You may feel that you are simply trying to find an answer to your question. You may not be able to explain why you’re googling- you just know that you have to.
The urge to Google may feel pressing, irresistible, and uncontrollable, as if it must be done right now.
You may notice that your searching is occupying excessive amounts of your time, taking up hours of your day.
You may find yourself pushing aside work, school, or family obligations. Maybe you acknowledge that the behavior is getting in the way of your responsibilities, yet can’t help but to engage in it.
Despite your best efforts, you may feel unsatisfied by the information that you find through your search efforts, or unable to accept the answers as definitive or valid.
Searching may provide some temporary relief from feelings of anxiety and distress, but it doesn’t last- and with time, you find yourself googling again as the persistent doubts return.
Compulsive Googling vs. Information Seeking
How do we know when our google searches are representative of a legitimate desire to obtain new information versus a compulsion? Let’s take a look at some of the key differences between information seeking and compulsive googling.
Information Seeking
Search is driven by curiosity or a genuine interest in the topic, with a desire to be informed and expand our knowledge base
We are choosing to perform the search
The information being sought out is new to us
A single search may be sufficient to answer our question
Once we find an answer, or feel that our curiosity has been satisfied, we move on with our day
If we are unable to find an answer, we can accept it
The process does not interfere with our daily life or cause us distress
Compulsive Googling
Search is driven by anxiety and distress
We feel that we must perform the search
We may already know the answer to our question
We may search multiple times, rephrasing the question or repeating our query over and over again
Once we find an answer, we may be unable to accept it as valid
The process may be time-consuming, taking up hours of our day
We may struggle to move on with our day. The process may get in the way of our responsibilities and cause distress
What Triggers Compulsive Googling?
People are often driven to engage in compulsive googling by the feelings of distress and anxiety that follow an intrusive thought.
An intrusive thought is an unwanted, involuntary, distressing thought, image, or urge.
Some examples of common intrusive thoughts include:
Whether you have cancer
Whether you are a bad person
Whether you hit someone with your car
Whether you will get sick from taking a sip of expired milk
Whether you infected someone with a contagious illness, such as HIV
While the compulsive googling may provide some short term relief from the negative feelings associated with intrusive thoughts, continued engagement in the behavior can actually make things worse in the long run. Why is this? Let’s take a look at the Cycle of OCD.
The Cycle of OCD
The Cycle of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can be simplified into four components:
Intrusive Thought
Anxiety
Compulsive Behavior
Temporary Relief
When an intrusive thought arises, it can be uncomfortable and upsetting, leading to feelings of distress and anxiety. These feelings may drive us to engage in a compulsive behavior in an attempt to find relief.
Engaging in the compulsive behavior may provide temporary reprieve from the distress and anxiety, but the relief is only short lived. With time, the intrusive thought returns, as do the feelings of distress, and we again feel compelled to engage in the compulsive behavior to relieve our anxiety.
Continuing to engage in compulsive behaviors trains our brain to believe that the intrusive thought is intolerable, dangerous, and must be dealt with immediately.
It reinforces the link between the distressing intrusive thought and the need to engage in a compulsive behavior to obtain relief, which perpetuates the cycle.
What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common mental health condition that can seriously impact your daily functioning and overall quality of life.
OCD impacts millions of people worldwide, and can be seen in both children and adults. OCD often develops gradually during adolescence or young adulthood, and can take many years to be diagnosed.
Curious about the diagnostic process for OCD? Dr. Betterly’s recent article breaks down how mental health professionals diagnose OCD.
OCD is characterized by the presence of obsessions, or unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images or urges, and/or compulsions, or repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the distress associated with obsessions. These obsessions and compulsions may be time consuming, taking up more than an hour of your day. They may cause significant distress and limit your ability to function in day to day life.
Compulsive googling is just one of the many different types of compulsions that may be seen in OCD. Other common compulsions may include hand-washing, cleaning, counting, checking, or ordering.
Fortunately, there are multiple effective, evidence-based treatments available for OCD. These treatments may include prescription medications, such as SSRIs, as well as specialized therapies, such as Exposure Response Prevention (ERP).
Getting Connected with Treatment for OCD
If you notice that compulsive googling is interfering with your life, or find that the symptoms of OCD sound all too familiar, reach out to a mental health professional for further evaluation of your concerns. A psychologist or a psychiatrist are both great options.
To locate a mental health professional near you, check out these free online directories from leading professional organizations:
Located in Florida? Dr. Holly Betterly is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist who specializes in treating OCD. She offers telehealth appointments for patients across Florida, as well as in-person appointments in Weston, FL. Request an appointment to start your journey to better mental health.
