Today I read a post by Janet (ocdtalk) that reflected on a post by OCD to the nth Degree discussing the “lost years” OCD causes and how to think about this in a more positive light. I really enjoyed reading both of these posts. They made me think about how much time OCD can take up each day and the fact that this amount of stolen time is gradually decreasing for me. Right now I am getting treatment and fortunately this is allowing me to steal back more and more minutes of each day from compulsions and ruminating about anxiety.

This is both very exciting and a bit nerve-wracking. I’m very excited to be able to better control my actions and to “waste” less time on unproductive compulsions. However, regaining these minutes and eventually hours is also a bit scary because it feels overwhelming to now have to fill this time that I am so used to not having. To help keep my opinion of this “regained time” solely positive and excited I wanted to brainstorm some of the pleasant things I could use the regained time for each day. This will also help keep me motivated to fight OCD so I can have more time for these activities, rather than giving in to the unhealthy compulsions, which is tempting since it is what I am far more used to.

Without further ado (and in no particular order except that they get weirder toward the end): What I can do with the regained hours

sleep (yesssss)

read for fun

attend more dance classes

paint

play with my dogs

learn new origami patterns

get through homework more quickly

get to class and meetings early, not late

spend time with my family

spend time with friends

ponder why the universe exists

choose my college major

learn the constellations of the night sky

play cat’s cradle

memorize more poems

watch documentaries

This list could go on forever and I’m so excited to get started.

~Miranda