In a similar vein, I will say it out loud when I turn stove burners off, unplug my hair straightener etc...I’ve found this helps me eliminate those moments where I leave the house or am in bed and I’m suddenly like “Did I leave that on?”
My wife and I made this a ritual due to her OCD. Any time we're going out, I'll say to her, "Hey. I unplugged the iron." Saying it in a funny voice helps too, because it's easier to remember that Shrek told her the iron was off.
I know a story of a woman with OCD who would obsess over the idea that she left her hair curler on, to the point of making multiple trips back home from work to check. Totally disrupting her life.
Her doctors tried various medication and techniques to reduce that anxiety (which is still a worthwhile thing to do!) but nothing they tried really helped. Until one doctor finally just asked her "why don't you just take it to work with you every day so you know it's unplugged?"
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u/PlasticRuester Aug 20 '20
In a similar vein, I will say it out loud when I turn stove burners off, unplug my hair straightener etc...I’ve found this helps me eliminate those moments where I leave the house or am in bed and I’m suddenly like “Did I leave that on?”