I’m really struggling this morning. I’m in the last week of graduate school and I am really scared about having a month off before I start my new job. Not having a routine is really hard because I feel like my obsessions get really intense. Does anyone else feel like this? What are some of the things you do to reduce the obsessions when you don’t have routine?

You can treat unplanned time as an exposure! “Maybe my obsessions will get louder, maybe they won’t.” Schedule enough stuff for yourself to do so that the amount of unplanned time doesn’t feel totally overwhelming, but also treat it as an opportunity to practice your ERP skills. Setting regular times for waking up, having meals and snacks, and going to bed could provide a helpful sense of routine.

I feel this so so much and am in the exact same boat. I have a month off too. I try to make a list of things I'd like to do for the day. Like today I'm hoping to go grocery shopping. Maybe attend an NOCD group.

Oh @betsy1212 I hear you! It can be tough for people like us to have a gap in routine. I was off for about 8 months at the start of the pandemic (airline) and at first my OCD was telling me that it would be so awful because I'd have nothing to do but be stuck with my intrusive thoughts and uncertainty about my future. I was very wrong. I embraced the heck out of it. Sure, my OCD came up, especially in the first week. And sometimes the "what ifs" sidelined me. But I also reminded myself that I had been overworking myself for the past couple of years and decided to take the time for me. I sat outside, I read, I took extra walks. I spent the summer trying new things with my favourite safe person. I know that grad school must have been taxing for you at times and you've probably worked yourself ragged sometimes too! My suggestion: plan one or two things a day for the first few days or the first week. Maybe one thing a day after that. It will give you some structure, something to do, somewhere to be, people to see. It may help anchor you. But also, let yourself decide to take a little extra time to do something you might have normally rushed through. Do something you've been saying "after I'm done this degree" about for a while. Take a day trip somewhere new. Or go away for a couple of nights if you can. Be there for you! Create a new temporary routine until work starts. You can do this!