Tips for Beating OCD, Anxiety, and Perfectionism: Break Down the Boxes

The past few weeks have been some of the most transformative I’ve ever had in my recovery from OCD.  They haven’t been particularly easy weeks, but of course I never expected this journey to be easy.  I want to share some insights I gained from a massive breakthrough I experienced recently, in case others who struggle with OCD might find them useful.  I’m not sure, but I have a feeling this might also be of value to folks who are perfectionistic or have a tendency to worry.  But because I am speaking from my experience with OCD, I’ll address OCD directly.

(Disclaimer: I am NOT a counselor and this is NOT scientific.  This is just an analogy that has helped me lately.  If you’re an OCD sufferer and it’s useful to you, wonderful; if not, please ignore me and listen to your therapist instead.)  🙂

Gifts OCD Has Given Me

This is the 100th post on my blog!  Celebration time!!!!!  🙂

Since it’s my hundredth post, and it’s coming up on the New Year, I thought it might be a nice opportunity for reflection.  So I went through some of the old posts I’d written.  WOW.  What a transformative few years it’s been since I started writing my blog in June 2008.

In some ways, it’s painful to read.  In other ways, it’s miraculous.  I read between the lines and remember what this journey has been.  In particular, it’s striking to revisit the agonizing confusion that came with my fight against OCD, especially before I knew I had OCD (I wasn’t diagnosed until December 2010, but I have been battling it my whole life).  I see it in every post, every question.  And yet, I would not change any of it. OCD has been my life’s greatest trial; but as is often the case with great trials, it has also provided many of my greatest gifts.

Today, I’d like to share some of the gifts OCD has given me — graces I would not have received were it not for my day-to-day struggle to live a rich, meaningful life despite my disorder.  I write this for the benefit of others struggling with difficult trials of every variety (including myself!), but with a special place in my heart for those facing mental illness.  I hope this will be a reminder that there is meaning in our battle, that God can create tremendous beauty from even the deepest despair, that there is hope for all of us.

On Managing OCD and Being Emotionally Healthy

My last post was about doubt, something with which I am intimately acquainted due to my lifelong battle with OCD (often called the “doubting disease”).  Obviously, chronic doubt, like the kind associated with OCD, can have a profound impact on one’s spiritual life — so I wrote the post in an attempt to share some of the tips and tricks I’ve learned in my quest to cultivate faith anyway.  I hope it can be a source of help and strength not just for OCD sufferers, but people who struggle with doubt in any way (which, let’s face it, is all of us).

It occurred to me this morning, though, that spirituality isn’t the only thing  impacted by OCD.  It has also has a major effect on emotional health.  So today, I wanted to share some of the strategies I’ve learned about being emotionally healthy, despite managing a mental illness.  I haven’t always been great at these — and, in fact, am still mastering most of them — but they are useful principles that I work on daily.

Interview at Depressed (but not unhappy): My Experience with OCD

My good friend Laura has a wonderful blog called Depressed but Not Unhappy where she discusses depression and mental health issues within an LDS context.  I recently did an interview with her about my own experiences as an OCD sufferer, and thought I would pass the links along to my readers.

Part 1
Part 2

(If you are struggling with OCD, please see my books recommendations page for 5 books that helped transform my life and made a dramatic impact on my ability to successfully manage my OCD.  If you need someone to talk to, you are welcome to private message me on Facebook or email me at katie_in_logan [at] yahoo [dot] com).