If you see something triggering, don’t avoid it. Look at it, go through the process, and move on. Avoidance leads to more anxiety. And hey, maybe the trigger won’t even be that bad. Maybe it won’t even be anything at all. The important part is that you don’t give your brain warning signals. Signals that will only lead to more avoidance and more fear. Afterwards, your ocd may bother you about it. But, you are completely entitled to ignore it. Don’t play into its game.

😍

that seems easier said then done

It gets easier the more you do it.

It does seem "easier said then done", but this is also ERP in a nutshell, and the most common treatment for OCD. It's not easy, but it's something you should practice if you want to start feeling better.

YESSSS! Preach the truth 😄

I have to agree that avoidance only worsens things. At the motel, I will try to answer the phone as much as possible, and try to check customers in as often as I can also. There are four of us in the evening to check people in and answer phones so it's like not getting all the reservations, in house or on phone by myself so it pushes my anxiety up a bit. So, I might as well get the majority of them. Easier way for me to feel less anxious. Well said Blue Mountain.