OCD

[Greekdude]

Hello guys , I want to share an incident which happened to me years ago.

I had arranged vacations with my friends and the moment that I "sealed the deal'

I was thinking about how the vacations will be(what we are gonna eat , how the island will it be and things like that) and I couldnt sleep each night .

I was not able to to stop that thought and after a couple of nights I went to the travel agency and I called off the vacations.

Is that OCD or anxiety disorder?

Because I was talking with my therapist and there is a chance for me to have both ocd and anxiety disorder.(I know that ocd is related to anxiety but my therapist told me that ocd is only with irrational thoughts and rituals)

[Hidden]

It seems like you made the decision of going to vacation, but was undecided if it was a good idea or not.

Not able to make decisions is an OCD symptom for me.

Since there is doubt involved, if a correct decision is made or not.

OCD comes with anxiety.

Anxiety and OCD are related to each other.

[Greekdude in reply to Hidden]

I like to go on holidays but I am afraid of the unknown and I cannot stop thinking of how it would be .

I will give another example. The past summer I wanted to go to the island of Crete , My godmother has a home and I was invited there . She told me to book a flight but when I was about to book the airfare I was so anxious and I didnt. Because I wanted to go so badly , I searched for bus tickets and ferry tickets and I said to myself if I sleep the night before and I dont think about how the holidays will it be , then I will go.

So I slept very well and I took the bus and the cruise ship and I went in order to avoid any anxiety of booking and travelling by airplane. (And I am not so afraid of planes , it is just that my mind will not stop thinking of how the vaccations will it be , how the unkown will it be .)

What do you think , is OCD or anxiety disorder?

Thank you so much for all your replies and the help!!

[Hidden in reply to Greekdude]

I do not want to diagnose it, since I am not a therapist.

But the treatment would be to book a flight by an airplane, and go to the place.

The anxiety will be high in the beginning, but slowly it will get lesser.

Sit with the anxiety and the feared consequences, that come with making the decision of

flying in an airplane.

I know that this is not easy.

I hope you can overcome it.

[Greekdude in reply to Hidden]

I am thinking of booking a ticket , I will discuss with my therapist because I am fighting to diminish some of my rituals now.

[MothFir in reply to Greekdude]

I also love to travel but hate to leave the house...not sure it's my OCD as much as general anxiety and the perceived risks of getting away from my comfortable routine. The day or two before leaving I get pretty nervous about it, but I always just go anyway. Within a couple days I feel a lot better and by the end of the trip I'm usually in no hurry to get home. Plus I always have a lot of great memories of my trips, so the anxiety is just one of the costs of going, for me.

I have started therapy this year for some of my other OCD issues and I'd like to eventually work on these pre-travel jitters so they don't cause me such discomfort. I don't have any advice except to say that you are not alone in having this anxiety and I hope you don't let it limit your travel too much. Has your therapist offered any suggestions? Seems to me the question is not so much is it OCD or general anxiety but what can be done about it. Good luck.

[Greekdude in reply to MothFir]

I love to go to new places , I hate to travel because of the discomfort ,

thank you for the reply.