College, transitions and OCD

Congratulations! If you are reading this, you are most likely taking part in a new journey and setting off to do something new. Perhaps you are a child, parent, or caregiver. Either way, I am grateful you are here. Every year as a therapist working with clients with OCD or anxiety disorders, I start to feel the buzzing tension from my clients as we near the end of summer and start to encroach on a new start. For many, this is a new school, college, or even a job-related shift. When we experience change, we enter a world of uncertainty and doubt. Hello, anxiety! Many individuals with OCD and anxiety also experience heightened perfectionism and fear of making mistakes. Can you see how this is all connected?

Some things you may start to notice during this time:

• Hyper fixation on all things that are going to change

• Tricky compulsive planning and preparing

• Avoidance of decision making

• Irritability

• Heightened emotions and emotional outbursts.

• Dread about future potential of failure

We can get through this! If you remember that OCD and anxiety latch onto the things that you value most, we can take a moment to increase awareness around what we are experiencing. Maybe giving ourselves a small amount of grace, "oh, hey anxiety! Yes, I am doing something that aligns with my values. I knew you would come along." Now that we can see it, and identify it, let me break things down into simple steps to guide you.

• Break things down into smaller steps

  • For example: Focus on registering for classes for one semester at a time and following through with sitting down and enrolling by the deadline.

  • Go shopping for school supplies only. Do not combine everything you may need in one trip. One step per shopping trip.

• Give yourself deadlines

  • To promote reduced avoidance, give yourself some milestone deadlines

    • Example: I will register for classes by July 15th at 5pm

• Increase self care

  • This is not a time to skimp out on that run, or time doing the things you enjoy.

• Reduce absorbing content around topic

  • You may find that your newsfeed is glaring with college content, or even the for you page giving you reels on the perfect dorm room. Maybe you've googled the same topic a few times (today). Reduce overstimulating content, and mute things that are spamming you.

• Accept the uncertainty and the topic of making mistakes

  • YOU ARE LEARNING SOMETHING NEW. Embrace the daily exposures and developing acceptance will help.

You are not alone, and you will get through this!