Traveling and OCD : I need advice! When my OCD first started I went on vacation with my family to Ecuador back in September 2019. While I enjoyed the trip and seeing family I hadn’t seen in a long time, I was also experiencing hell because this was completely new to me, didn’t know it was OCD, and constantly kept feeding it mental compulsions because I had no idea what else to do. So now my family wants to travel back there at the end of the year for the holidays. I really want to see my other family again and I’ve never in my life been there during the holidays/my birthday, we’ve always previously gone in the summer. But i honestly think that other trip traumatized me or something due to the extreme distress and pain I was going through. So now just thinking of going back has my OCD acting up fierce and I’m terrified it’s gonna get worse from now just being September to the trip in December. I know things are completely different now: I’ve been diagnosed with OCD, I’ve been in therapy doing ERP with an OCD specialist for the last 6-7 months, and I’ve seen progress from then on. But now this is coming up and it’s knocking me around. I know I have to go on this trip because of I said I didn’t want to that would hurt me more because I know it would come from a place of avoidance. Plus I absolutely LOVE traveling via plane, going to airports and being on a plane and everything about it is one of my greatest joys and OCD is trying hard to hurt that for me. I just wanna go and not be in that same state of pain and distress as before, and to get myself out of a state of panic and into self-care so I can just CHILL. I’ve been working lately to find a psychiatrist to potentially start medication so that I can be less on edge and deal with my OCD accordingly without having the anxiety portion fly off the rails. Is there anything else I should do? Advice? Thanks

EtOCD

Date posted: 5y

I know what you’re going through, I’m a university student but I go to school abroad. I live in NY but go to school in the UK. My first year in university I had my first experience with false memory OCD and it traumatized me. Every summer I go back to NY, but I get really anxious in the fall I have to fly back because my first year was so traumatic. So now every time I go back I keep a morning routine including some exercise and 15 mins of mindfulness. It really helps me jump start my day and keeps my mind away from those dark thoughts. OCD is a grade A asshole but don’t let it ruin what’s supposed to be an exciting time! Also planning what you may want to do when you get there can help reduce the anxiety leading up to the trip.

Evelyn4416

Date posted: 5y

Thank you for sharing your experience! I will try to implement something similar. It’s so easy to get caught up in the thoughts and fears and feel like this is your life forever but I know once we work on it and calm down we see it’s just an OCD lie

EtOCD

Date posted: 5y

@Evelyn4416 Exactly OCD is a bully, as you stop paying so much attention to what they’re saying and reacting to it eventually they’ll fade away.

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