I have written several blog posts about reading OCD, and for whatever reason, those tend to be some of my most popular posts. My guess would be that reading OCD is pretty common, and it is not talked or written about nearly enough in the OCD community.

I would love to say that I am completely cured of my reading OCD, heck all of my OCD, but that is not how OCD works. It never goes away 100%. It is how my brain is wired, though OCD is very treatable, and I have vastly reduced the amount of time it takes up and the impact it has on my life.

My reading OCD is better than when I was in undergraduate college. I can read for school (I’m getting a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science). My main difficulty is I avoid reading, especially starting reading. It’s that first step that is the hardest.

Still, I make it work. I cope and get done what I need to get done, while also doing some reading for fun, an important part of my identity. Here are some tips on how.

A quick interlude: What is reading OCD? The obsession/fear was that I didn’t fully understand, conceptualize, or even memorize what I was reading, especially for school. The compulsion can be re-reading, taking obsessive notes, or avoiding reading altogether.

Listening Counts Too

I highly recommend audiobooks. Most libraries allow you to stream audiobooks for free with your public library card, through apps like Libby and Hoopla. Listening to audiobooks took some getting used to, and the narrator can make or break a particular book, but now I love the format. It’s a great way to engage with a story, while doing some other activity, like washing dishes. I would hardly reach my annual book reading goal without audiobooks.

Try A Different Format

Other different reading formats to try include: magazines, newspapers, and graphic novels. To me, graphic novels are far less intimidating than a traditional novel. Perhaps it’s because they contain fewer words and can often be read in an hour or two. And honestly, they still tell great stories. Some of the most memorable, impactful books I’ve read are graphic novels, including Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel and Maus, by Art Spiegelman.

I’m not really into reading newspapers or magazines, at least not since they discontinued the American Girl Magazine, but I can see these being a great format for others. They are fewer pages, shorter chunks of reading, and overall less commitment to the text. For me, that makes them less scary.

Invest in a Screen Reader

I must admit, I’ve never used a screen reader myself. I do imagine though that this could be useful because it is similar to audiobooks. It allows for auditory processing, rather than visual processing. I could see this being especially helpful for all those journal articles and other digital texts they ask you to read in college. You may even be eligible for access to a screen reader for free through your disability and accommodations office. I’d be curious to hear from others with OCD if you have secured and tried this accommodation, and if it was helpful.

Constrict Your Time

One of the main strategies I’ve found helpful for getting through my graduate school readings may sound counterintuitive, but it’s procrastinating. Hear me out: If I start the readings days in advance, without countless available hours to spend with the text, I am likely to get stuck in cycles of rereading and obsessing. On the other hand, if I wait until the morning of or even hour before class, I only have that hour. It forces me to pay attention to the most important points and skim the rest. This may not work for everyone, especially if you are a natural procrastinator, but for my OCD that wants be to be too thorough, this shortens the allowable time I can spend on a reading.

Give Yourself Permission to Skim

Know that it is okay to skim when reading, especially when reading for school. Let me say that again. It is okay to skim. Believing this is easier said than done, but once you give yourself this grace, reading becomes so much easier, less intimidating, and honestly, more fun again.

Choose Fun Books

Fun is so important to reading. Isn’t that the whole point after all, to learn and find enjoyment? I’m not saying I enjoy every assigned reading for school or even every novel I check out from Libby, but fun is my goal. With books I choose rather than are assigned, I typically give it an hour on audio or no more than 100 pages of a physical book, to decide if I’m enjoying it.

If I’m not enjoying the book, I don’t finish it. There are so many good books out there in the world. I promise it is not worth it to force yourself to finish a book you aren’t enjoying. This choice is reaffirmed when I don’t finish a book, but the next one I pick up is absolutely amazing.

I’m Not Done

These are tools I use to continue reading on the daily, but I’m not done working on taking reading back from OCD more every day too. I would love to someday be able to just pickup a physical book, open to the first page, and read it from cover to cover. We’ll get there.

Morgan

P.S. I recognize the irony that you have to read this blog post to get these tips on coping with reading OCD. If you’ve made it this far, well done!