Hi @JeremyThomas
First off, I want to say thanks for being so open and sharing what's going on for you at the moment. I struggle with OCD myself and so I know how challenging it can be to voice the things you feel vulnerable about and how much stress these invisible barriers can bring with them.
It sounds really tough and exhausting feeling as though you have to get everything right the first time. That's a lot of pressure to be perfect! What kind of things go through your mind when something isn't done right the first time?
You also mentioned that sometimes the way you're feeling gets in the way of you enjoying things in life. It can be so hard to be present when you're trying to compete with your own mind, so I hope that you're being kind to yourself when you can't seem to enjoy what you're doing or something gets in the way. What kind of things are important to you that you feel like you're not able to enjoy right now?
I'm sorry about what happened to your book. The special edition sounds like a truly lovely gift, so I'm sorry that you haven't been able to enjoy it in the way you had hoped. If there's anything I've learned from battling OCD it's that even though things might not be 100% right, there's often 90% of things that are good enough. Even though the first page is creased, what other things do you like about this book? What's it about? Are there still parts of it that you like?
