​Case 1:
Rocky Prater went to college only because of pressure from his older brother. Unfortunately, he got into several courses he hated, so that the entire school day seemed difficult and dull. Shortly before midterms, Rocky developed a thought that he had not set his alarm clock. He would lean out of bed to check, but it was always set. Sometimes he would wake up in the middle of the night with the terrible feeling that the alarm was not set, but it always was. Still he continued to go through this alarm checking ritual at least once every night and often more frequently.
Finally his counselor helped him realize that his recurring thought was based on his unconscious desire to sleep through his morning classes, and that the behavior was his unconscious method of counter-acting these unrecognized feelings. After his talk with the counselor his behavior began to fade away.