Many people use AI chatbots like ChatGPT to answer health questions, offer relationship advice, and even provide mental health support. But for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), these tools can sometimes do more harm than good.
If you have OCD, you might turn to ChatGPT to get reassurance, check if a thought is “normal,” or see if you did something horrible. At first, the AI chatbot’s responses may bring you comfort, but over time, constantly going to ChatGPT can quickly become a compulsion that can be hard to break.
In this article, we’ll break down the risks of using AI chatbots when you have OCD and offer advice on how to use these tools more safely.
How OCD can interact with ChatGPT
OCD is a mental health condition that involves two primary symptoms:
- Obsessions: Unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, urges, feelings, or sensations that cause significant distress
- Compulsions: Repetitive physical or mental acts done to relieve distress from obsessions or to prevent a feared outcome
Many people with OCD feel intense uncertainty and seek out ways to feel better, even if it only brings temporary relief.
ChatGPT and similar AI tools can feed into this cycle. Here’s how:
- Compulsive reassurance-seeking: People may repeatedly ask ChatGPT if their thoughts are normal, if they’re a “bad person,” or if something really happened.
- Endless checking: Some people use AI to fact-check or replay past events to ease doubt and guilt.
- Avoidance of uncertainty: “You have 24-hour access [to ChatGPT],” says Patrick McGrath, PhD, NOCD’s Chief Clinical Officer. “It is not going to say no to you—it’s just going to keep giving you information.” This leads to people avoiding sitting with uncertainty, which is one of the main challenges in OCD recovery.
- Ritualized questioning: Asking the same question in slightly different ways or comparing multiple responses becomes a form of mental compulsion.
Over time, these habits can actually make OCD symptoms more intense.
Real examples: When ChatGPT becomes part of the compulsion
Below are a few scenarios people with OCD might encounter:
- A person with relationship OCD (ROCD) asks ChatGPT over and over if their doubts about their partner mean they don’t love them.
- Someone with harm OCD checks with ChatGPT to see if having violent thoughts makes them dangerous.
- A person with scrupulosity OCD repeatedly asks the AI chatbot if lying or swearing is a sin.
Each time ChatGPT delivers a comforting response, the relief is only temporary. The cycle repeats, and your OCD gets worse.
Why reassurance isn’t treatment
It’s crucial to understand that reassurance—even when delivered by an AI—is not a substitute for treatment. In fact, compulsive reassurance-seeking is one of the behaviors that evidence-based treatments like exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy work to reduce.
ERP is a specialized form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) proven to be effective for OCD. General CBT, if not tailored for OCD, can sometimes be unhelpful or even worsen symptoms. ERP helps people learn how to tolerate uncertainty and overcome compulsions, allowing them to regain control over their lives. With ERP, people learn to sit with distressing thoughts without trying to fix, check, or neutralize them.
Other OCD treatments that can help reduce compulsive behaviors in combination with ERP therapy include:
- Medications, such as SSRIs (for moderate to severe OCD)
- Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
For severe, treatment-resistant OCD, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), deep brain stimulation (DBS), intensive outpatient programs (IOPs), and gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) may be recommended by a mental health professional.
So should people with OCD avoid ChatGPT altogether?
Not necessarily. ChatGPT can be a helpful tool if it’s used mindfully and not as part of a compulsion.
Here’s how to make use of AI more safely:
- Use it to learn—not to soothe: Research OCD, but avoid asking personalized moral or safety questions. Or, you can skip ChatGPT altogether and opt for expert-backed content from our content library or the IOCDF to learn more about OCD.
- Notice your patterns: Are you checking repeatedly? Asking the same question in different ways? These could be compulsions.
- Talk to a therapist: Bring up your use of AI in therapy. Your ERP therapist can help you spot when it’s becoming part of your OCD cycle.
- Accountability helps: Some ERP therapists use behavioral tools, like having clients put a quarter in a jar each time they give in to compulsive AI use. It’s not about punishment—it’s about creating awareness. As Dr. McGrath explains, “Sometimes there’s not enough of a cost to doing the compulsion. Adding an external piece can help people stay on track.”
Technology isn’t the enemy—compulsions are
Let’s be clear—it’s not that ChatGPT is uniquely dangerous. Any and every tool can become part of the OCD cycle if it’s used to seek reassurance. “A support group could be a great help to a lot of people, but some could also use it for reassurance, keeping them stuck in the cycle,” says Dr. McGrath. “[ChatGPT] is just the next evolution of how people with OCD might get reassurance.”
The problem isn’t the tool. The problem is when the tool becomes a crutch that keeps OCD in charge.
Why human support still matters
At NOCD, we believe effective OCD treatment requires a human touch. That’s why every Member is guided by a licensed therapist who specializes in ERP therapy.
While AI tools can be helpful for education or support between sessions, they can’t replace the empathy, insight, and clinical judgment of a trained ERP therapist. Our therapists don’t just give answers—they help you learn how to sit with uncertainty, resist compulsions, and build lasting change.
If you’re stuck in reassurance-seeking loops or feeling overwhelmed by OCD, know that real, evidence-based help is available—and it starts with a human connection.
Find the right OCD therapist for you
All our therapists are licensed and trained in exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP), the gold standard treatment for OCD.
Bottom line
ChatGPT and other AI tools can be useful in many areas—but they’re not a substitute for OCD treatment. If you’re using AI to feel better after distressing thoughts, you might be reinforcing compulsions without realizing it.
The best way to manage OCD is with evidence-based treatments like ERP therapy that are guided by a licensed therapist. ChatGPT can’t replace that, and if you’re not careful, it could make your symptoms worse.
Key takeaways
- ChatGPT can unintentionally reinforce OCD compulsions like reassurance-seeking and repeated checking because it’s available 24/7 and never sets boundaries.
- Using AI for constant reassurance may temporarily reduce anxiety, but ultimately strengthens the OCD cycle and can impact daily functioning.
- ERP therapy focuses on reducing compulsions and learning to tolerate uncertainty, something AI tools cannot provide.
- AI can be used safely when paired with self-awareness, boundaries, and human-guided OCD treatment.
