OCD doesn’t just demand certainty—it often demands the right experience. During summer, this can show up as thoughts like, “Why am I not enjoying this more?” or worries that you’re “wasting” the season on the “wrong” activities. You might even feel like you’re not having the correct amount of fun.

🧠 The Hidden Rule Behind OCD Perfectionism

If these thoughts have been showing up, it can be helpful to pause and notice the rules OCD may have created about summer. You might uncover beliefs like:

“If this moment isn’t perfect, something is wrong” or

“Summer is supposed to feel a certain way.”

These internal rules fuel anxiety and keep you stuck in cycles of overthinking and self-monitoring. Instead of experiencing the moment, you’re evaluating it.

🔄 A Healthier Perspective

Rather than chasing the “perfect” experience, it’s more helpful to build flexibility around how experiences are allowed to feel.

You can remind yourself:

• It’s okay to feel anxious or uncomfortable and still participate
• Enjoyment doesn’t have to be intense to be valid
• A moment doesn’t need to feel meaningful to be worthwhile

You can enjoy something imperfectly. In fact, most real enjoyment is imperfect.

Sometimes, the pressure to feel a certain way actually pulls you out of the experience altogether. OCD’s running commentary—“Is this right? Am I doing this correctly?”—can quietly steal the joy that’s already there.

🌿 Let Summer Be What It Is

Letting go of the idea of a “perfect summer” creates space to actually experience it.

Instead of planning, optimizing, or micromanaging every moment, try allowing your summer to unfold as it happens. Practice gentle awareness:

• Notice the warmth of the sun after stepping out of air conditioning
• Slow down enough to really taste your ice cream
• Float in the pool without needing to talk or do anything at all
• Listen to the background sounds—whether it’s nature, traffic, or people nearby

And just as importantly—allow moments that feel ordinary, distracted, or even a little off.

Not every experience will feel special. Not every moment will feel like “enough.” That doesn’t mean you’re doing summer wrong.