As somebody who struggled in the past with OCD and now works with people as they’re navigating recovery, first of all: know that it’s not at all strange to experience a spike in OCD symptoms on vacation or during your digital nomad adventures. That kind of experience can actually teach you a lot about the factors that affect compulsions and anxiety. There will be plenty of opportunities to explore that when you return from the trip. For now, in this post, let’s delve into some practical tips for managing that OCD spike while you’re traveling…
1. Acknowledge and Communicate: It’s great you recognize your OCD symptoms are heightened. That’s a very natural thing to experience when there’s a change of routine and an increase in uncertainty around us (which makes sense if we’re in a new place). It’s not a failure and it doesn’t contaminate the trip. That awareness is something to celebrate. And by acknowledging it, you’re already communicating with yourself about it. Let that communication be kind. If you’re with other people, it can also be useful to communicate with them about your needs and the supports you’ll find helpful. Trying to keep things hidden is just another thing to control and hide. As we explore more tips, consider how you could share about any changes to the trip that will help you thrive.
2. Slow Down and Prioritize: Recognize that it’s okay to slow down. Your itinerary is probably packed beyond what any superhuman can achieve on vacation. Remove some of the items on your list, especially anything you felt you “should” do or were only doing because you wanted to tell somebody else about it or share it on social media. A lighter schedule can alleviate the pressure to ‘do it all.’ Start by listing out what you want to do and prioritize based on what’s easiest to accomplish and what’s most important to you. Pick the activities that land in the easy+important quadrant.
Let’s not rush breakfast, ok?
3. Add Consistency: Travel inherently comes with uncertainty, which i sone of the aspects that makes it so wonderful, but can also be a trigger for OCD. A practical step is to actively look for ways to introduce some consistency or maintain elements of your usual routine. For example, when I’m traveling, I’ll purposefully plan to ensure I’m getting breakfast while I’m moving around. And if I don’t know where I can get it because I’ve never been there before, I’ll plan in extra time for figuring that out. Life will supply so many uncertainties without you doing anything extra to pursue them, so consider what unnecessary uncertainties you can eliminate for activities you’ll practice each day of your trip.
4. Join Group Activities: It’s tempting to retreat and isolate when anxiety spikes, but sitting in your hotel room improving your rumination skills won’t actually be useful. Participating in a group activity can give you somewhere else to take your brain and reduce the time spent on compulsions. Cooking classes, street food tours, pottery making–I find it helps to engage with activities that get you doing things with your hands and interacting with people and new experiences.
5. Find Humor in the Chaos: As you navigate the experiences that come up while traveling with a human brain, try to find the humor in it. This isn’t just a hollow encouragement to think positively. It’s actually going to be a useful ERP or ACT exercise to diffuse the judgments and feelings of contamination we can attach to a trip not going perfectly. Often, our craving for control and perfection was just an extension of the OCD compulsions, and actually what setup the disruption when we went on the trip. So laughing at the absurdity of intrusive thoughts or the unpredictability of travel mishaps can be a powerful tool. You’re having experiences. And you’re fully capable of having them. That doesn’t mean the experiences need to be perfect. And you don’t need to handle them in any perfect way. It is really just hilarious and wonderful we can adventure around this incredible planet while dragging the intrusive thought machine inside our skulls 😀
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