Honestly this list could easily be, ‘100 things which make OCD worse’, there are so many of them but for efficiencies sake the top 5 I’ve always found are:

1. Overthinking/ruminating on your thoughts, feeling & emotions – this never ends well! Something it’s important to learn quickly with OCD is that YOU CAN’T OUTTHINK YOUR THOUGHTS! Believe me I’ve tried. The more you tumble down the rabbit hole the more anxious and irrational you get.
2. Night-time – yep at night our logical brain takes a rest and the emotional brain is more active as a result. This brain is much less rational and can catastrophize extremely well. The trick at night time is to realise this and dismiss any irrational thoughts that come in between 11pm and 7am. You’ll feel so much more capable of dealing with them in the morning.
3. If basic needs aren’t being met – HALT is a great acronym for this, if your feeling; Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired know that you’ll be less able to deal with intrusive thoughts when they come in. Try to manage these 4 things well throughout your days.
4. If you’re very stressed – If you’re stressed for whatever reason your body will already be on high alert. Be mindful that when in this state thoughts will feel more sticky, catastrophic and black and white.
5. If you haven’t moved your body enough – Movement creates endorphins in the brain which are our bodies natural de-stressors. We were built to move and as a result we feel better when we do.
6. A sneaky 6th one for the ladies – when we’re on our periods resilience can also be lower and so be kind to yourself during this time and know the thoughts will feel more sticky.

Let me know what you think and whether there’s any you’d add to the list. Keeping everything in balance when tackling OCD can be tricky. However, it will set you up to succeed in the long run.

Stay Strong xxx