Why AI Makes OCD Worse—And What Actually Helps

If you live with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), you probably already know how easy it is to get stuck in your head. Maybe you spend hours replaying something you said years ago. Maybe you go down a mental rabbit hole trying to be sure you didn’t mess something up. Maybe you’ve even turned to tools like ChatGPT or Google in search of reassurance.

But as a therapist who specializes in OCD, I want to talk about why that backfires—and what actually helps.

I recently read a powerful article by writer and performer Amrou Al-Kadhi titled “Why AI and OCD Don’t Mix.” In it, they describe how their OCD—specifically Pure O, where the compulsions happen mostly in the mind—pulls them into endless mental spirals. They replay decisions. Revisit regrets. Analyze the past to death. And they found that ChatGPT, like so many AI tools, made it worse. It joined them in the spiral.

As they put it: “You ask ChatGPT for reassurance, it gives it to you.”

That’s exactly the problem.

What Is Pure O?

“Pure O” (short for purely obsessional OCD) is a subtype of OCD where the compulsions are mostly internal. Instead of visible rituals like handwashing or checking locks, the person tries to neutralize distressing thoughts through things like mental reviewing, reassurance-seeking, or avoidance.

The thoughts themselves might focus on morality, past mistakes, identity, or relationships—anything that hooks into the person’s deepest fears. The mental compulsions are often invisible from the outside, but the suffering is real—and intense.

How OCD Really Works (And Why It’s Not About the Content)

OCD isn’t just about being clean or organized. At its core, it’s a problem with the brain’s threat-detection system. A false alarm goes off—an intrusive thought, feeling, or image—and your system scrambles to feel safe again. That’s where compulsions come in. They’re attempts to make the anxiety stop.

For people with Pure O, that often means thinking harder, analyzing the situation, trying to find the “right” answer. But that overthinking is the compulsion—and it keeps the OCD loop going.

Tools like ChatGPT can unintentionally reinforce that cycle. When you ask it to help you review a past event or reassure you that you’re not a bad person, it responds as if the fear is valid. That might feel comforting in the moment, but it strengthens the underlying belief that this thought needs to be resolved. It keeps the false alarm active.

What Actually Helps: ERP and IFS

Two of the most effective approaches for treating OCD are Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Internal Family Systems (IFS). I integrate both into my work because they address different—but equally important—layers of the OCD system.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

ERP is the gold standard treatment for OCD. It involves gradually facing the thoughts or situations that trigger anxiety—without doing the usual compulsions. The idea isn’t to “get rid of” the thought. It’s to retrain your brain to stop treating that thought as dangerous in the first place.

If OCD says “You might have said something wrong,” ERP helps you sit with that thought without rereading messages or mentally dissecting the interaction. Over time, this breaks the link between discomfort and compulsive response.

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

IFS is a therapy model that views the mind as a system of parts—each with its own role, fear, and strategy. In OCD, protective parts often respond to the false alarm by launching into overthinking, avoidance, or perfectionism.

In my approach, I treat the OCD signal itself as a brain-based misfire, not a part—but I use IFS to help clients connect with the parts of them that try to manage or escape that signal. Instead of complying with the OCD, we build a different relationship to it—one that’s grounded, curious, and self-led.

AI Can’t Help You Heal. But Therapy Can.

As Al-Kadhi writes, “Sometimes, truly feeling something is the only thing we can do to recover.” That’s the paradox of OCD recovery: you don’t get better by finding the perfect answer—you get better by letting go of the need to have one.

AI tools like ChatGPT can simulate clarity, but they can’t teach you to tolerate uncertainty. They can’t help you grieve past regrets, feel your shame, or unhook from the inner protector that’s working overtime to keep you safe.

That kind of healing work happens in therapy—real, human therapy.

Ready to Work Differently With Your OCD?

If you're tired of getting stuck in thought loops, seeking reassurance from AI, or trying to outthink your anxiety, you’re not alone—and there’s a different way forward.

I offer therapy that blends ERP and IFS with an understanding of how OCD works on both a brain and emotional level. Whether you're dealing with Pure O, classic OCD, or something in between, we’ll work together to help you unhook from the false alarms and live with more clarity, calm, and choice.

Learn more about OCD therapy here, or get in touch if you're ready to begin.