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How to Confront Perfectionism
My OCD continues to improve with ERP therapy. Lately, my perfectionism has been my most difficult challenge. I started to strip away habits and compulsions. Now there’s an underlying anxiety to ensure things are perfect. Even if you don’t have OCD, perfectionism is very common. Our society has trained us that we need to always be at our best. For me, when you factor in chronic illness, that’s just not possible. I have some days where I struggle to function. It’s taken me my entire chronic illness journey to realize that it’s not a weakness to ask for help. In battling perfectionism, I’ve found some tricks in daily life. These…
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Learning to be Mindful
Mindfulness is a term that has become well known. It’s good for everything. Mental, physical and emotional health can all be improved by being mindful. What is mindfulness? Living in the moment is a great theory but in practice it can be quite difficult. I’ve talked before about radical acceptance and how it can improve your life. Mindfulness can come with radical acceptance. It often comes hand and hand with many different mental health strategies. In pain prevention or response, mindfulness can be utilized to endure. It’s possibilities are endless, so where do we start? Right here…. Take a deep breath When anxious or in pain, we often start to…
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Dealing With Endless Testing
Different types of testing go along with any type of chronic or acute illness. From blood tests to MRI’s, I have gone through the ringer with testing. Every test comes with different emotions. Some tests are painful, like the different injections I had to get in my hip. Other tests are emotionally taxing, like a three hour MRI of your brain and spine. All testing comes at a price whether it be physical or emotional. The more you try to escape it, the worse your experience will be. Here’s how I deal with endless testing. Radical Acceptance There will be tests that suck. Painful, traumatizing, and horrible tests will occur.…
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How to Find Radical Acceptance
Radical acceptance is often brought up in treatment for OCD. The concept is quite intriguing. It is the idea that we only need to accept what we are experiencing. In one moment, to the next we bring ourselves to a state of peace by accepting our circumstance. For me, radical acceptance has been very important in my chronic illness journey. After my last surgery, radical acceptance clicked for me. In times of pain, it’s easier to accept than in times of anxiety. So how can we find radical acceptance and how do we implement it into our lives? Here’s how I found radical acceptance: Be Patient Radical acceptance is a…
