How to make and (maybe) keep New Year's Resolutions when you are in OCD Treatment
For those of us with OCD, the New Year can be a fraught time. This yearly reckoning with progress-made and progress-desired can feel very heavy for those of us who are in constant recovery from our cycles of obsessions and compulsions. We lose so much time to our OCD, and often get derailed from our true values. We usually experience each day of life as Groundhog Day, with endless repetitions, rather than a true fresh start. For those in OCD treatment, or simply considering it, I propose the following strategies for setting New Year's Resolutions.
Don’t allow New Year's Resolutions to become a compulsion.
As we know, those of us with OCD can very easily pick up new compulsions. If we read about the “right” way to get fit, or clean up our diet, or organize our homes, we can easily become rigid about these behaviors. While this makes us far more likely to keep our New Year’s Resolutions, unfortunately, we may be setting ourselves up for an addictive behavior that we have difficulty dropping if it becomes destructive.
Consider setting intentions rather than resolutions.
Intentions are far less likely to become compulsions than the more specific and results-oriented tradition of resolutions. When we set an intention, we are promising that we will try to move in a certain healthy direction. We may set an intention for mindfulness, peacefulness, or allowing more room for emotional experience. We may pledge to honor our bodies as best we can, rather than commit to something measurable and compulsion-prone.
Figure out your true values, rather than your OCD’s values.
Shortly before or immediately after the New Year in OCD treatment, we often use the opportunity to step back and try to understand what our lives would look like if we weren’t constantly playing to our OCD. What would we emphasize instead of our obsessions? How would we put more priority on our values? Sometimes we must spend time in session clarifying what our actual values are and what we would find important if it weren’t for OCD.
In order to isolate core values, we may utilize a Values Sort, an experiential activity from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Sometimes going through a values sort process demonstrates to us that anxiety and OCD has led us quite far from what truly matters to us.
Don’t plan your wellness journey in the next year; rather, trust the process.
It is tempting as an OCD individual to try to control your wellness process – we may aim to anticipate pitfalls, try to limit our pain, and research alternatives. The New Year may be a time when you question whether the treatment is working (after all, you often leave OCD sessions feeling worse!). While agency is of course critical in the OCD treatment process, as is a healthy amount of skepticism, it is often counterproductive when a client tries to be too prescriptive of their recovery.
I urge my clients to both set intentions for themselves, but also give themselves permission to “fall off the wagon” and recover at a pace that feels right for them.
If you are ready to seek treatment for your anxiety or OCD, please reach out to Kairos Wellness Collective today. May your 2023 be a year full of wellness and peace!
