Symptom Accommodation in OCD and Anxiety Disorders
When someone we care about struggles with OCD or an anxiety disorder, it’s natural to want to help ease their distress. Often, this leads to something called symptom accommodation—changing our behavior to reduce their anxiety in the moment and reduce a person's immediate distress. While this comes from a place of love and empathy, it can actually make things worse over time.
Symptom accommodation means doing things to help someone avoid their anxiety triggers. It might feel like the right thing to do at the moment, but it can unintentionally keep the anxiety going. While accommodation may offer short-term relief, it can unintentionally reinforce and sustain the disorder over time.
Here are some common examples:
In OCD: Family or friends might help with rituals like excessive hand washing, cleaning, or checking. They might also answer the same reassurance-seeking questions over and over.
In Social Anxiety: A loved one might step in to order food, make phone calls, or speak for the person in social situations to help them avoid discomfort.
In Generalized Anxiety (GAD): This can look like constantly reassuring someone, making decisions for them, or offering extra details to calm their worries—even if those worries are unlikely.
Why It’s a Problem
Although symptom accommodation is common and often well-intentioned, it can hinder long-term recovery. While these actions can reduce anxiety in the short term, they often reinforce the idea that the person can’t cope with anxiety on their own. Over time, this can make the symptoms stronger and more difficult to manage.
That’s why it’s important to address it directly and include it as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help individuals and their families recognize and gradually reduce accommodating behaviors. This therapeutic approach encourages more effective ways to cope with anxiety—by facing feared situations rather than avoiding them—ultimately supporting lasting recovery.