Before talking to him I was struggling with anxiety that was so bad I could barely get out of bed for almost a year. I had bad anxiety since I was 21 but in November of 2017 it became unmanageable. It all starts from pain that I felt daily and came to find out I had 3 hernias all at the same time. After the surgery and getting it fixed I began focusing on my breathing, heart beat, and saliva production, sensorimotor OCD on a daily basis and I would search Google for hours trying to figure out what was wrong with me. I moved to Vermillion last October and was doing ketamine treatments which gave me temporary relief while I took the medicine.

After talking to Rob for about a month my anxiety began to get much better, even after one session it went down tremendously. For about 2 months I had almost no anxiety. Then one day when I was exercising I felt something in my stomach and it brought me back into the same cycle of focusing on my body sensations. For months I suffered trying to figure a way out or try to rationalize what was happening to make myself feel better, differing to rationally disputing it that Rob taught me.

One of the main things that changed everything was when Rob told me I shouldn’t try to figure things out, not to try to answer anything and to move towards the things that scared me the most. At first I thought he wanted me to go to hell and back but then I realized it wasn’t hell it was just my belief that it was that created this. So I began a journey of doing nothing. Not reacting, not answering questions, not trying to find a way a way to stop but just letting my thoughts be thoughts with the occasional rational disputing. This made me understand that only through time and feeling these thoughts and feelings will create that space. I now firmly believe I am on my way to a full recovery, by full I mean 90%. I will always have OCD but having a new belief that it’s not hell, its not even really that bad I now know that with time everything will level out.

It took me years of avoidance and irrational thoughts to make me the way I was. OCD Recovery is about being able to accept the worst case scenario and be at peace with it. To not answer questions or figure anything out. I can have these thoughts or emotions and still live a normal life and do everything I love to do. I know that with time my new beliefs will become strong. This alone will make the cycle stop. It doesn’t matter if it shifts or changes to a different theme. The same principles still apply.

I am grateful for Rob and Instagram for helping create this connection. Thanks to Rob I have my life back. I’m doing amazing in work. I have a great relationship with my Girlfriend. I even started a new business with no fear because I know whatever comes my way I have the tools I need to succeed. If you are struggling with OCD, no matter what theme it is, know you can and will be able to recover with the right help, time, and patience.