Just Right OCD: Understanding “Not Just Right” Experiences and Finding Relief

If you’ve ever spent an hour rereading the same paragraph because it didn’t feel “complete,” or walked through a doorway multiple times until the sensation was “right,” you know how exhausting and isolating this experience can be. You’re not alone—and what you’re experiencing has a name.

What Is Just Right OCD?

Just Right OCD is a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder characterized by an overwhelming need for things to feel “complete,” “balanced,” or “just right.” Unlike other forms of OCD that are driven by specific fears—like contamination or harm—Just Right OCD is driven by an internal sense of incompleteness or wrongness that demands resolution.

Defining “Not Just Right Experiences”

Researchers use the term “Not Just Right Experiences” (NJREs) to describe the core sensation behind this OCD subtype. It’s a feeling that something is off, incomplete, or not quite right—even when you can’t explain why or point to anything logically wrong.

This sensation isn’t about fear of a bad outcome. It’s about the discomfort of incompleteness itself. The feeling nags at you, demanding that you fix it, adjust it, or do it again until it finally feels “right.”

For many people with Just Right OCD, the experience is difficult to put into words. You might describe it as:

• A sense that something is “unfinished” even when it’s objectively complete
• Physical tension or discomfort until things are arranged or done a certain way
• An internal “itch” that won’t go away until you perform a specific action
• Knowing something is fine logically, but not being able to shake the feeling that it’s wrong

Research by Coles and colleagues has shown that these “not just right experiences” are central to understanding this form of OCD—and that they respond well to specialized treatment.

How Just Right OCD Differs from Other OCD Types

If you’re familiar with more commonly discussed OCD subtypes—like contamination fears or checking compulsions driven by fear of harm—Just Right OCD might feel different in an important way: it’s not primarily about preventing something bad from happening.

With contamination OCD, there’s typically a fear: “If I touch this, I’ll get sick or make others sick.” With checking OCD, there’s often a worry: “If I don’t check the stove, the house might burn down.”

With Just Right OCD, the driver is different. It’s not “something bad will happen if I don’t do this.” It’s “I cannot tolerate this feeling of wrongness until I fix it.”

This distinction matters because it affects how people recognize their symptoms—and how treatment is approached. Many people with Just Right OCD don’t initially realize they have OCD at all. They might think, “This is just how I am” or “I’m just a perfectionist.” The symptoms can feel ego-syntonic, meaning they feel like part of your personality rather than an intrusion.

Common Just Right OCD Symptoms and Behaviors

Just Right OCD can manifest in many ways, but the common thread is the need for things to feel complete, balanced, or correct—and the compulsive behaviors performed to achieve that feeling.

Physical Sensations and Visual Symmetry

Many people with Just Right OCD experience a strong need for visual symmetry or physical balance:

• Objects on a desk must be aligned in a specific way
• Pictures on a wall need to be perfectly level
• Physical sensations on one side of the body create a need to “balance” them on the other side
• Clothing must feel even on both sides of the body

The discomfort isn’t about what might happen if things are asymmetrical—it’s about the sensation of imbalance itself being intolerable.

Repetitive Actions Until Things “Feel Right”

Compulsions in Just Right OCD often involve repeating actions until the accompanying sensation feels complete:

• Rereading sentences or paragraphs until they “register” correctly
• Rewriting words or letters until they look right
• Walking through doorways or up stairs repeatedly until it feels right
• Tapping, touching, or adjusting objects until the sensation is satisfied
• Saying words or phrases until they sound correct

These repetitions aren’t driven by superstition or magical thinking. They’re driven by the need to resolve an uncomfortable internal sensation.

Perfectionism and Order Compulsions

Just Right OCD often involves extensive time spent arranging, organizing, or perfecting:

• Spending hours organizing items in a specific order
• Being unable to start a task until conditions feel “right”
• Taking far longer than necessary to complete simple tasks because each step must feel complete
• Difficulty finishing projects because nothing ever feels quite done

The key distinction from healthy perfectionism is distress. Perfectionism can be rewarding—you feel good about high-quality work. Just Right OCD is distressing—you feel trapped by a need you can’t satisfy, and the “fixing” brings only temporary relief before the feeling returns.

The Psychology Behind Just Right OCD

Understanding why Just Right OCD happens can help you recognize that this isn’t a character flaw or something you should be able to “just stop.”

The Role of Incomplete Feelings

Research suggests that people with Just Right OCD may have heightened sensitivity to feelings of incompleteness. Where others might notice a mild sense of something being “off” and move on, someone with Just Right OCD experiences that sensation intensely—and feels compelled to resolve it.

This isn’t a choice or a lack of willpower. It’s a difference in how the brain processes these signals. The incompleteness feels urgent and demanding in a way that’s difficult for others to understand.

Sensory Processing and OCD

There’s growing recognition that sensory experiences play a significant role in OCD. Some researchers have found connections between Just Right OCD and heightened sensory awareness—being more attuned to physical sensations, visual details, or the “feel” of actions.

This sensitivity isn’t inherently problematic, but when combined with the OCD cycle of obsession and compulsion, it can create a powerful loop: notice something that feels “off” → experience distress → perform a compulsion to fix it → temporary relief → the feeling returns or shifts to something else.

Why Logic Doesn’t Always Help

One of the most frustrating aspects of Just Right OCD is that insight doesn’t resolve it. You might know, logically, that the book on your shelf is fine where it is. You might understand that reading the paragraph a fifth time won’t give you any new information. But that knowledge doesn’t make the feeling go away.

This is a hallmark of OCD in general: the problem isn’t a lack of understanding. The problem is that the emotional/sensory experience overrides logical knowledge. This is why treatment focuses not on convincing you that your fears are irrational, but on changing your relationship to the discomfort itself.

Impact on Daily Life and Relationships

Just Right OCD can significantly affect quality of life—even when others don’t understand why.

Academic and Work Performance

The time consumed by Just Right OCD rituals can make school and work extremely difficult:

• Assignments take hours longer than they should because of rereading, rewriting, or redoing
• Difficulty starting tasks because conditions don’t feel “right” leads to procrastination
• Perfectionism that never feels satisfied results in missed deadlines
• Mental exhaustion from constant internal monitoring reduces focus and productivity

For students, this might look like spending an entire evening on homework that should take an hour. For professionals, it might mean staying late every night to complete work that colleagues finish easily.

Family and Social Relationships

Just Right OCD can strain relationships in ways that are hard to explain to others:

• Family members may become frustrated with rituals they don’t understand
• Shared spaces become sources of conflict when things are moved or changed
• Social events feel overwhelming when you can’t control the environment
• You might hide your behaviors out of embarrassment, leading to isolation

The people around you might say things like “just leave it alone” or “it doesn’t matter”—not understanding that for you, it does matter, intensely, even if you wish it didn’t.

Emotional Toll and Mental Health

Living with Just Right OCD is exhausting. The constant monitoring, adjusting, and fixing takes a significant toll:

• Frustration and shame about behaviors you can’t seem to control
• Exhaustion from the mental effort of managing symptoms
• Depression that develops from feeling trapped or hopeless
• Anxiety that compounds the OCD symptoms

Many people with Just Right OCD also experience depression or generalized anxiety. These aren’t separate issues—they’re often the result of living with an untreated or undertreated condition that makes daily life feel impossibly hard.

Just Right OCD vs. Perfectionism vs. OCPD

It’s common to confuse Just Right OCD with perfectionism or Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD). Understanding the differences can help you get the right diagnosis and treatment.

The key question: Does this feel like something you want to do, or something you have to do?

Healthy perfectionism feels chosen—you pursue high standards because you value quality. Just Right OCD feels compelled—you perform rituals because the alternative (tolerating the feeling) seems unbearable.

Effective Treatment Options for Just Right OCD

The good news is that Just Right OCD responds well to treatment. The key is finding treatment that’s specifically designed for OCD—not general talk therapy or anxiety management.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Therapy

ERP is the gold standard treatment for OCD, including Just Right OCD. Research consistently shows that 80% or more of people who complete ERP experience significant improvement.

ERP works by gradually exposing you to situations that trigger the “not right” feeling while helping you resist the urge to perform compulsions. Over time, your brain learns that the discomfort is tolerable and temporary—and that you don’t need to “fix” it to be okay.

For Just Right OCD specifically, this might involve:

• Intentionally leaving things slightly asymmetrical or “imperfect”
• Reading a passage once and moving on, even if it doesn’t feel complete
• Stopping a task before it feels “done”
• Tolerating the physical sensation of something being “off”

The goal isn’t to never notice the “not right” feeling again. It’s to change your relationship to that feeling so it no longer controls your behavior.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Approaches

CBT techniques can complement ERP by helping you identify and challenge the thoughts that fuel compulsions. This might include examining beliefs like:

• “I can’t function unless this feels right”
• “If I don’t fix this, the feeling will never go away”
• “Something bad will happen if I leave it incomplete”

Cognitive restructuring helps you develop more flexible thinking patterns that support the behavioral work of ERP.

Medication Options and Considerations

For some people, medication—typically SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)—can be a helpful addition to therapy. Medication can reduce the intensity of OCD symptoms, making it easier to engage with ERP.

However, medication alone is rarely sufficient for OCD. Research consistently shows that the combination of medication and ERP produces better outcomes than either treatment alone—and that ERP is the essential component.

ERP Therapy for Just Right OCD: What to Expect

If you’re considering ERP, knowing what to expect can help you feel more prepared.

Creating Effective Exposure Exercises

In ERP, you’ll work with your therapist to create a hierarchy of situations that trigger the “not just right” feeling—starting with less distressing situations and gradually working up to more challenging ones.

Exposures for Just Right OCD might include:

• Leaving a picture hanging slightly crooked
• Writing a sentence with an imperfect letter and not fixing it
• Walking through a doorway once, even if it doesn’t feel right
• Ending a task at an arbitrary stopping point

The exposures are tailored to your specific symptoms. Your therapist will work with you to identify what triggers your “not right” feelings and design exercises that target those triggers.

Resisting “Just Right” Compulsions

The “response prevention” part of ERP is where the real change happens. After triggering the “not right” feeling, you practice not performing the compulsion that would normally follow.

This is uncomfortable—that’s the point. By sitting with the discomfort instead of fixing it, you’re teaching your brain that the feeling is tolerable and will pass on its own. Over time, the urge to perform compulsions decreases.

Working with a Specialized Therapist

OCD—especially subtypes like Just Right OCD—requires specialized treatment. Many general therapists aren’t trained in ERP or may not recognize Just Right OCD as OCD at all.

When looking for a provider, ask:

• “What is your training and experience with ERP specifically?”
• “How many people with OCD have you treated?”
• “Are you familiar with Just Right OCD or ‘not just right experiences’?”

A therapist who specializes in OCD will understand that your symptoms aren’t about being “too particular” or needing to relax—they’ll know how to target the underlying mechanisms effectively.

Self-Help Strategies and Coping Techniques

While professional treatment is the most effective approach for Just Right OCD, there are strategies you can use to support your progress.

Mindfulness and Acceptance Approaches

Mindfulness can help you observe the “not right” feeling without automatically reacting to it. The goal isn’t to make the feeling go away—it’s to notice it, acknowledge it, and choose not to act on it.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) principles can also be helpful: learning to accept uncomfortable internal experiences while committing to actions aligned with your values, rather than actions dictated by OCD.

Gradual Exposure at Home

If you’re working with a therapist, you may practice exposures between sessions. If professional treatment isn’t currently accessible, you can try small exposures on your own:

• Notice when you feel the urge to “fix” something
• Pause before acting on the urge
• Try delaying the compulsion by a few minutes
• Practice tolerating the discomfort, even briefly

Start small. The goal isn’t to eliminate all compulsions overnight—it’s to begin building tolerance for the “not right” feeling.

Building Distress Tolerance

Remember: the discomfort is temporary. The “not right” feeling, while intense, will naturally decrease over time if you don’t perform the compulsion. This is called habituation, and it’s the mechanism that makes ERP work. Even when the discomfort doesn’t fully decrease during an exposure, learning that you can live your life without responding to it is still therapeutic.

Skills for tolerating distress—deep breathing, grounding techniques, self-compassion—can help you get through the uncomfortable moments while you’re building this tolerance.

When to Seek Professional Help

You don’t need to wait until you’re in crisis to seek treatment. Consider reaching out to a professional if:

• You spend an hour or more per day on rituals or mental compulsions
• Your symptoms are affecting work, school, or relationships
• You’ve tried to stop on your own but can’t
• You’re experiencing depression, hopelessness, or significant anxiety alongside OCD symptoms
• Your quality of life isn’t where you want it to be

Many people wait years to seek treatment, often because they don’t recognize their symptoms as OCD or because they feel ashamed. But Just Right OCD is a well-understood condition with effective treatment. You don’t have to keep struggling alone.

Finding the Right Treatment Provider

Specialized treatment makes a significant difference in outcomes. When evaluating providers, look for:

• Specific training in ERP: Not all therapists are trained in this approach
• Experience with OCD: Therapists who see many OCD clients develop expertise that generalists don’t have
• Familiarity with OCD subtypes: A provider who understands Just Right OCD will recognize your symptoms and know how to treat them

At Bio Behavioral Institute, we’ve been treating OCD for over 45 years and have worked with more than 4,000 people with OCD. We specialize in complex cases—including Just Right OCD—and use evidence-based ERP delivered one-on-one, in person, tailored to your specific needs.

We understand what you’re dealing with. We’ve seen it thousands of times, and we know that recovery is possible. Our approach is collaborative: we develop your treatment plan with you, involve family members when helpful, and walk the path with you until your quality of life changes.

If you’re tired of rearranging, rereading, and redoing—if you’re ready for things to actually feel okay—we’re here to help.

Schedule a consultation with our OCD specialists to learn how specialized treatment can help you reclaim your life.

This article is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you’re experiencing symptoms of OCD, please consult with a qualified mental health professional.

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