I recently received a fascinating email from a young woman with obsessive-compulsive disorder, who posed a question that made me stop and think.
I would love it if you could offer me your take on this: is it better to keep my eyes on my feet (IE journey), or is it a good idea to keep an eye on my OCD?
Essentially, she was asking if it was smarter to keep an eye on the illness (knowing that OCD is never cured, only managed) or if it was better to ignore OCD while she could and just enjoy the journey.
Here’s what I said:
Such a good, thought-provoking question. I imagine that the answer might be different from person to person, but as for me, I think the answer is a little bit of both.
My OCD has been in remission since ERP five years ago. These days, I don’t pay a terrible amount of attention to my OCD because it’s no longer intruding on my life on a regular basis. That said, if I have an off day, OCD is the first thing I “check”– did I take my meds, am I having intrusive thoughts and need to practice some exposures again, etc.?
I think it’s BEST to keep your eyes on the journey. But you still have peripheral vision. 🙂
For more about the ERP therapy that set me free, go to jackieleasommers.com/OCD.
Image credit: toxicbarbie13
JACKIE LEA SOMMERS 
Great question and great post, Jackie! I love your take on it. You don’t want to give OCD any more attention than it deserves (because that’s what it wants, right?) but then again, you don’t want to ignore it so it can flourish, either.
Ah yes, peripheral vision. I like it. I agree. You definitely want to keep it in check, but not to the point where it interferes with your ability to live a meaningful life. Good answer!
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