I’ve been dealing with minor OCD for as long as I can remember. But for years, it was like a ticking time bomb. Though the obsessive thoughts and compulsive behavior didn’t affect my day-to-day life too much, I was in denial that it was even a problem - until my mental health finally reached a breaking point.
It was then that I realized how important it is to acknowledge and take care of your mental health. This led me to seek professional help and start taking steps towards recovery. It was overwhelming at first, but learning coping strategies was a game changer. For instance, to break patterned behaviors, I forced myself to change things up by rearranging furniture in my house as often as possible.
I also started practicing mindfulness, which has really helped me be more aware of how I’m feeling in certain situations or during times of distress. Whenever negative thoughts arise, I remind myself it’s just the OCD talking and if I can develop an understanding between what is real and what isn’t, I know I will get through it.
Living with OCD isn’t easy, but it is manageable. It takes patience and effort but little by little I am learning to control these intrusive thoughts while also finding ways to find peace amongst the chaos that goes on inside my head.