The start of a new year invites us to reflect, reset, and think about how we want our lives to change for the better. This year, many people are turning their focus inward: 33% of Americans are making a mental health New Year’s resolution for 2025, according to the American Psychiatric Association.
For those of us with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the idea of taking steps to improve our mental health can feel overwhelming—but change is possible, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. While OCD can be debilitating, it’s highly manageable and treatable, and a new year is a fresh opportunity to make changes that could transform your life.
Let’s explore how you can make this the year you prioritize your mental health and start conquering OCD.
What it means to take care of your mental health with OCD
First and foremost, it’s important to realize that everyone’s OCD journey will look different, and that’s okay. Your path to feeling better and learning how to best cope with this disorder is yours and yours alone. You do not need to compare yourself to others. Your goal is to find what works for you and figure how to help yourself live the life you want to live.
If you’re in the thick of your struggle right now—maybe in the midst of an OCD flare-up or coming to terms with your diagnosis—I want you to know something: feeling overwhelmed and unsure where to start is completely normal. I’ve been there myself. As you gain more life experience and learn more about this condition, you will develop a toolkit of strategies that work best for you.
That said, a few tips to begin the new year in a way that keeps you (and not OCD) front and center are:
Set flexible goals based on YOUR values
What does a life worth living look like to you? Take an inventory of what truly matters to you, what would lighten your stress, and what drives you. These answers will guide you toward goals based on your values, which can play a powerful role in helping you push back against OCD.
Then, plan out how you’ll reach these goals. New Year’s resolutions often come with high expectations and an underlying fear of failure, which can be particularly tough for those of us with OCD, so to avoid the trap of “all-or-nothing” thinking, I always recommend taking baby steps—although I consider any step towards your well-being a huge step, since these seemingly “small” steps can lead to great changes.
For example, if spending less time engaged in rituals is a goal you want to set for yourself this year, decide what “less time” would look like for you, and how you’ll decrease the amount of time spent. Come up with some manageable steps you could take, like using a timer and allowing yourself a certain number of minutes to engage initially and then gradually lowering the time.
Additionally, keep in mind what you really want to achieve with your goals. In this example, what would you gain beyond just less time being spent in rituals? Is having more time to spend with loved ones important to you? Do you want to feel more present? Each person is different, so your answers will be unique to you, but determining your personal motivations can help you decide which values drive you to fight this battle against OCD.
As you pursue your goals, focus on progress over perfection, and remind yourself that setbacks are part of growth, not a sign of failure.
Show yourself the kindness you deserve
Cultivating a kinder relationship with yourself is another powerful change you can make moving into the new year. In my career as an OCD-specialty therapist, it was all too common for me to hear the people I worked with expressing feelings of low self-worth and even self-hatred. Often, this was because they had internalized their intrusive thoughts and taken them to mean something about their character.
For someone struggling with OCD, practicing self-compassion often means acknowledging that having OCD isn’t your fault, and that intrusive thoughts don’t say anything about the kind of person you are. In fact, the reason they’re so distressing is precisely because they’re so out of character. These thoughts are ego-dystonic, meaning they’re opposed to your morals and values.
If you notice OCD symptoms flaring up, try talking to yourself as you would to a friend going through the same situation. Remember: you are not your thoughts, and you’re doing the best you can with a challenging condition. Celebrate the seemingly “small” steps, because there is no such thing when it comes to OCD. Every step you take to fight back against this disorder is a victory worth celebrating.
Get your life back from OCD
Approach routines and self-care mindfully
Focus on building a foundation of basic self-care practices that support your mental health: getting enough sleep, eating a balanced diet, doing physical movement you enjoy, and engaging in activities that help you decompress. The key is to approach these habits flexibly and non-compulsively so that they don’t become new rules that can fuel OCD. Start by identifying one or two areas where you’d like to start making small changes, and gradually build from there.
Also keep in mind that self-care isn’t just about face masks and meditation apps (though these things have a purpose and a place in many people’s lives). Real self-care with OCD is often about making choices that serve your long-term well-being, even when it’s hard. Sometimes this means sitting with uncomfortable feelings instead of attempting to alleviate them with a compulsion. Sometimes it means reminding yourself, “This anxiety feels uncomfortable right now, but I’m building a better future for myself by sitting with it and allowing it to pass.”
Self-care is recognizing that you are worth fighting for, even when you don’t feel up to the task. This can be a powerful reminder, helping us push through the hard stuff as we face OCD head-on.
Connect with others who understand
No matter where you are in your journey with OCD, having people around who can walk alongside you and encourage you is an important piece of self-care. OCD can be an isolating condition, often making us feel like we’re the only ones who understand what we’re going through, but there are so many others in the OCD community that have been where you are currently.
You do not have to walk this path alone—don’t be afraid to reach out to people, join online communities, attend support groups, read articles and books, listen to podcasts, and most importantly, listen to other people’s stories. Just be cautious not to compare. Take what is inspiring and what may be most helpful to you and leave the rest.
Seek care that can help you conquer OCD
While all of the previous strategies can help support your mental health, the most important step you can take in the new year is to pursue evidence-based treatment for OCD. Just deciding to seek out help is a massive victory for many people with OCD, who may have spent years unsure what they were struggling with or feeling isolated and alone.
If you choose to seek care that can help you conquer OCD this year, you’ll want to look for evidence-based treatment like exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. ERP is a specialized form of therapy designed specifically to treat OCD, and decades of research have shown it to be the most effective treatment.
ERP is most effective when it’s delivered by a therapist with extensive specialized training in OCD. Under their guidance, you can build skills and confidence step by step, with support from someone who truly understands OCD and knows how to treat it effectively. With the skills taught in ERP, you truly can get better and stay better.
NOCD brings this life-changing treatment directly to you through our network of licensed therapists who specialize in OCD and ERP therapy. We offer convenient virtual therapy and powerful in-app support between sessions, so you’re never alone, and our therapists are trained to deeply understand all OCD symptoms—even those that tend to carry a lot of shame and feel difficult to talk about.
Book a free 15-minute call with our team to learn more about getting matched with a NOCD Therapist and making this year a breakthrough in your OCD journey.