Isolation

Do you self isolate too?

When I’m not doing well it is always reflected directly by my inability and lack of desire to socialize.

I just physically feel so tired I can’t seem to get out of bed, and then I’m over stimulated by noise so I want my door shut and my OCD makes me scared to see anyone for fear of a trigger.

The thing is, isolation is not our friend.

Sure it helps to temporarily ease our discomfort and yes, sometimes it is necessary,  because it gives us a bit of a mental break, in that we don’t have to be super alert at all times if we aren’t affecting other people. But unfortunately, when we self isolate for long periods of time, we actually only feed the negative cycle.

I’m learning more and more about how to live with OCD and it is fascinating and frustrating. The very things you avoid, you are to pursue. The very lies that you try to argue with, you are supposed to agree with… It’s complicated and confusing to say the least.

I’ve been in counseling for years, but my main focus has been my multiple physical chronic illnesses, mostly because they kept me bed and wheelchair bound and in a lot of pain, but I underestimated their effects on my mental state. My physical state and my life circumstances created an isolation so deep that my already fragile mental state was just shattered.

I’m now in the learning, accepting, and rebuilding phase of life.

It’s hard.

But you and I are in this together, right?

Keep Fighting,

Amy