Stress week

A week ago, we went to our apartment in the big city to finish the last renovations.
We really hope that soon we will find someone to rent it.

That week was full of stress, anxiety, and hard work.
None of it was helpful for my mental health.

The stress wasn’t only coming from the apartment.
There was also the pressure of all my relatives wanting to see my child.

My sister — she is 14 now — came on the first day to help me.
She doesn’t know that I struggle with OCD and intrusive thoughts.
Actually, most of my relatives don’t know yet.

She helped us so much — packing, moving things, organizing.
But more than that, we got to spend a day together, which hasn’t happened in years.

One day, my father came to help us lift the heavy things.
I felt so grateful for all the help we received.

My mother took my boy for two days, and we rushed to do as much as we could while he was away.

At the end of the week, when the pressure started to decrease,
my OCD slowly started to come back.

At first, the thoughts were mild.
Not too scary.

But within a few days, I started to struggle again.

We went back to the village where we live now,
but the thoughts came with me.

They gave me small breaks during the day,
but at night they always returned.

In moments like this, I feel trapped in a cycle.

So I do my best to stay present
and use whatever I can in that moment to calm myself.

Looking back, I think I handled the situation well,
despite how uncomfortable it felt.

Before, I wouldn’t have managed like this.
I probably would have needed more medication, and for a longer time.

Now I know something important:

It will pass.

It always does.

If you feel like you’ve been running on empty for days:

→ The kind of tired that isn’t about sleep  

→ The pressure is overwhelming