It Took Coronavirus for Me to Realize I Had OCD

In the past several weeks, I’ve learned that many of the “thoughts” I was having were actually mental compulsions. I — like many others — had always associated the disorder with compulsive behaviors like washing one’s hands, counting floor tiles, or checking to see if a door was locked. But for those with Pure OCD or Pure O (nicknames for a subset of the disorder that don’t present physical behaviors), compulsions may be “rumination, mental reviewing, avoidance, reassurance seeking, or compulsive checking,” explains Chrissie Hodges, a mental health advocate and author Pure OCD: The Invisible Side of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. The way I reviewed situations to determine how I felt or recall what I did, the way I asked loved ones for definite, concrete answers, and my obsessive internet research were all anxiety-reducing behaviors. Like someone who feels the need to wash their hands in order to feel clean, I needed to do these things in order to quell my worries.

COVID-19 is Making Postpartum Depression and Anxiety Worse

Postpartum mental health issues are fueled not only by the hormonal turmoil that women experience but also by the emotional and practical challenges of keeping a vulnerable new human alive while operating on very, very little sleep. Having a baby during a pandemic is harder. Even if everyone in the family is healthy, it’s harder. Even if the family’s financial situation has not been damaged by layoffs, it’s harder. It takes all of the challenges of parenting a newborn — the nerves, the stress, the at-times profound loneliness — and amplifies them.

The Lonely Terror of Postpartum Anxiety

But too often, what gets shrugged off as “new mom worry” feels crippling to the woman experiencing it. To a new mother with postpartum anxiety, her whole world can begin to feel like a battlefield.

Is My Chest Tightness Anxiety or the Coronavirus?

One common symptom of COVID-19 is chest tightness and shortness of breath. As it happens, chest tightness and shortness of breath are also common symptoms of anxiety. So last week, when my chest felt tight for three days and I monitored my breath so closely that breathing started to feel unnatural, I worried, and worried some more.

How to Cope with Anxiety about COVID-19

It’s terrifying to learn that an illness such as coronavirus (COVID-19) is spreading across the globe. The early stages of a pandemic can be especially anxiety-provoking. During this time, you don’t know how widespread or deadly the illness is going to end up being. Feelings of fear, anxiety, sadness, and uncertainty are normal during a pandemic. Fortunately, being proactive about your mental health can help to keep both your mind and body stronger.

AnxietyLibby MarlerMarch 23, 2020The Counseling Collective COVID-19, anxiety, anxious thoughts, panic attack, reducing panicComment

Life Transitions

Life is full of transitions. Transition from college to adulting, getting married, job changes, move to a new city, having kids, loss of a loved one, a breakup/divorce, a significant medical diagnosis. Some transition are by choice like graduating or getting married. Others are unwanted, like an unexpected layoff from a job or breakup with a boyfriend. Whatever the circumstances, navigating the in-between space can be difficult as it presents new challenges, heightened emotions, and demands new responses.

Anxiety: Understanding the Vicious Cycle

One of the first steps in learning how to cope with and heal from anxiety is identifying the cycle of anxiety that takes place in your day to day life. Understanding the anxiety cycle will help to identify the various triggers of your anxiety, recognize the unhealthy coping patterns you have developed in order to avoid feeling anxious, realize that avoiding the triggers to your anxiety may provide temporary relief, and remember that short-term relief doesn’t lead to long-term growth. Identifying how your own experience specifically fits into the cycle is one of the first steps to experiencing freedom from anxiety!

Feelings Are Okay

Do you believe that feelings are okay? Most of us were never taught to feel, process, and name our emotions as children... sadly this has resulted in many adults who are not okay with not being okay.

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