It’s like 11:47pm.

You’re in bed. You’ve already tried to ignore it. That didn’t work. So now you’re like, fine, I’ll just ask.

You open ChatGPT and type something along the lines of:

“is this normal?”

“does this mean something?”

“can you tell me if this is OCD or if I should actually be worried”

And it helps. For a minute. It gives you something that sounds calm and organized and reasonable. Which, compared to what your brain is doing, feels like a gift. So you ask again. You reword it. You add more detail just to be sure. And now you’re twenty minutes deep into a conversation trying to land on the exact right answer.

If you’ve ever found yourself doing this, you’re not weird. You’re doing what people do these days when their brain won’t shut up.

This is the same pattern I talk about in my free Stop the Spiral training. It just has a new tool now.

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Why ChatGPT Feels So Good In The Moment

I get why people love this.

It’s immediate. It doesn’t judge you. It doesn’t get tired of your questions.

You can ask something that feels kind of embarrassing out loud, and it just… answers.

And when your brain is spinning, that kind of clarity feels stabilizing. Especially if you’ve been stuck in your head for hours trying to figure something out and getting nowhere.

So yeah, of course you’re going to go back. I would – if I didn’t know any better.

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The Part That Starts Getting… Weird

Where it changes is usually subtle.

You ask once. You feel a little better.

Then your brain goes, “okay but wait…” So you ask again.

Then you start tweaking the question. Then you start checking if the answer feels right. Then you’re comparing responses.

And now you’re not really asking anymore. You’re checking. I’ve had people tell me they don’t Google anymore, which is great. But then they describe having full back-and-forth conversations trying to get certainty out of AI. Which… is the same thing.

Just looks a bit different.

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What Your Brain Is Actually Learning

Every time you feel anxious and then go ask something and feel relief, your brain is paying attention. Not in a thoughtful way. In a very basic, “that worked, do it again” way. So the next time you feel off, your brain skips the whole “maybe I can handle this” step and goes straight to:

go ask

get answer

feel better

And the more you do that, the less confident you feel dealing with your own thoughts without checking. Which is kind of brutal, to be fair. Because now it’s not just about that one thought. It starts bleeding into everything. You hesitate more. You second guess more. You need a little more confirmation before you move on.

This is the exact loop I break down inside the OCD and Anxiety Cycle Masterclass, because once you see it, you can’t pretend it’s random anymore.

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A Very Real Example

I had someone tell me they spent almost an hour asking variations of the same question because they couldn’t get the answer to “land.”

That word stuck with me.

Land.

Like if they just phrased it right, or the response came back a little clearer, or a little stronger, they would finally feel settled. And I get that. I’ve done versions of that in my own way.

But there is no answer that lands when your brain is in that state. It just keeps asking for another one.

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So What Are You Supposed To Do, Just Sit There?

There’s usually a moment where you know you want to ask again. Like you can feel it building. You’re like… okay I just need to check one more thing and then I’ll be done.

That moment is so epic. Because I want you to be able to move forward so easily that you don’t need a better answer, you don’t even need to answer it at all.

And yeah, that feels unfinished and annoying and a little irresponsible. Your brain will absolutely argue with you about it.

Mine still does sometimes. I’m not above this.

If you feel like you’ve been doing all the “right” things and still end up back in this loop, that’s exactly what I go into in my Still Stuck Masterclass.

Because a lot of people aren’t doing anything wrong. They’re just stuck in patterns no one pointed out clearly.

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This Isn’t Really About ChatGPT

You could delete the app tomorrow and your brain would find something else – Google. Reddit. Texting a friend. Replaying it in your head.

It’s the same pull. That “I just need to be sure” feeling. ChatGPT just makes it faster and more convenient. Which is why people are getting stuck here more quickly.

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If This Sounds Like You

I wouldn’t start by banning yourself from using it.

That turns into its own thing.

I’d start by noticing when you’re using it to learn something new versus when you’re using it because you feel uncomfortable. Those feel different if you slow down enough to catch it. And then maybe once a day, you don’t answer the question.

You let it sit there. Even if it bugs you. Even if your brain keeps circling back to it while you’re brushing your teeth or trying to fall asleep.

That’s the rep, just like the reps you need in the gym to build stronger muscles.

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And If You’re Over This Pattern

If you’re reading this and thinking, yeah… this is me, and I’m tired of doing this every day, then this is what I teach inside my 3 Day OCD and Anxiety Bootcamp. It’s very practical, very real-life, and it helps you actually break this loop instead of just understanding it.

And if you’re ready for something more structured and long-term (+ community and weekly access to me!), that’s where the OCD and Anxiety Recovery Blueprint comes in.

Because at some point, you have to drop the need for one more better answer. You need to move forward without requiring the answer at all. <3 And you can 100% get there. I know it.

Jenna