Avoidance. Its not about stopping myself from things, its mustering the courage to do basic stuff. Ita gotten so bad I can't even put on socks or have showers. I'm missing out on life, and truly I've been missing life lately. It all is so completely ridiculous. I want to go for a hike. I want to do zumba and yoga. I want to build a strong and healthy body. I want to experiment with cooking and learn to play the piano. But all I do is avoid. I do find support in "what would you do if you didn't have anxiety/ocd", but even if I know what I would do, I can't seem to be able to follow through. It feels impossible. My life has become empty and I'm not functioning anymore. How are you all doing? And how do you feel about avoidance?

I do avoid things too, but what I try to do is not demand too much from me, I try to slow down a bit and take some time to do something relaxing, I don't really know how to help you with that, it seems really hard to deal with but try to take things easier (I don't know if this helps)

@b4682j If it's something I find hard to do, I normally say "I'll do this for at least 2min, and then I'll get some rest" and when I've come to realise I've already did everything I hoped I could

@b4682j Try to compensate yourself after doing something hard, like taking a break or eating something you like

If you need anything, you can send me a message, or post something and I'll try to help ❤️ I really hope things get easir for you

@b4682j Thank so much for the love and support in your replies. ❤ I do have things I enjoy, but I cant enjoy them anymore. Everything is riddled with intrusive thoughts and ruminating. Every "break" is filled with mental compulsions. I hardly get breaks when I sleep. I will definitely test out the method of doing it for 2 minutes! 2 minutes is way more than 24/7 with compulsing and avoidance. 💪

@b4682j I wish I could do something relaxing. But my mind is on the alert all day long. Even if I try watching TV its constantly not relaxing. I'll hang in there!

@asdfghj There was something my psychologist told me, it was that if you find something you enjoyed boring, then you should try something new. I mean, my hobbies change a lot and experiment new things often, but sometimes I go back to the things I once liked doing and what I try to do is inovate them in some way, for exemple I love painting and drawing but I only did it on paper, when I was getting bored I started doing digital art and it somehow changed a little the image I had of drawing and painting

@asdfghj Aaaw, it's okay ❤️

@asdfghj have you tried watching tv and while doing it, writing something or using your hand? this way your brain will get occupied both with the information you're getting from the TV and with the action you're doing with your body, maybe this could help

@b4682j origami is a good way to relax, I would say ;)

@b4682j I will try using my hands while watching TV. And also I would really like to try out new hobbies or change them up. The problem for now is not that they are boring there is just too much anxiety to get started. I obsess over wrong/right and it has latched on to everything and because of a lot of stressors it has peaked the last 3 weeks. Hanging in there!

@asdfghj I would say trying to do things you have more affinity could help a hit, or maybe changing the subject of the things you do?

Yay! I also just had a shower. It was so hard. 😅 gonna plan to do one more small task for the day and then just focus on surviving.

@asdfghj Great job!! And if you’re feeling up to it try and find something you like to do that doesn’t cause too much anxiety for fun.

@Coul.C The fun stuff has become too attacked by intrusive thoughts. But I will go out of my way to push myself to get some laughs in today, even though intrusive thoughts will appear and ruin it. 🤪💪

@asdfghj Gotcha haha I’ll do the same! It may be a bright day because of it! Who knows?