Today is a day filled with jokes, pranks, and, well, fun.  Friends, family, coworkers, and maybe even some of our clients are celebrating the day with jump scares, knock knock jokes, physical humor, sarcasm, and comedy.  

But for those with OCD, a day filled with jokes that are coming left and right can be hard to navigate as it can be impossible to prepare for the triggers—a “throw up” joke may leave a lasting impact if you worry about health issues; a weird line of an unidentified substance on the kitchen counter may trigger harm worries (“what if that’s a drug?”) or contamination (“what is that gross stuff?”), fears of not getting the jokes and responding wrong, and then a whole lot of required rituals designed to help OCD find certainty.

The unpredictability of a day full of jokes makes it hard for OCD–it can’t plan for the day and curate the rituals. It doesn’t know what to expect so it doesn’t know what to avoid, where to turn, which ritual will “solve” the situation…and because it is OCD, it’s prepared for every worst case scenario. What it neglects to prepare for is the times you may be laughing about the joke, engaging in the prank, and laughing with those close to you.  

Give yourself permission to zoom out of OCD’s narrow focus to find the humor and engage the day in a way that matters to YOU–join in on the fun or announce loudly that you’re not falling for ANYTHING today. Consider ways to allow your values to lead instead of your fears, find your own way to celebrate with your humor today!