Avoidance (or, 'The Ostrich')

[00:00:00] An obscure song from a beloved cartoon is the perfect metaphor for today's topic. Tune in.

[00:00:11] Hello and welcome to MoMo 634, the daily podcast chock full of faith-filled inspiration and motivation.

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[00:00:43] Longtime listeners know I grew up on TV from the 60s and 70s. Like most of my generation,

[00:00:50] I loved Scooby Doo. My favorite episode features The Creeper. As was the formula, the gang had a chase

[00:01:00] sequence during the episode and a song would play. In this particular episode, the song was the very

[00:01:07] bizarre, I'm in love with an ostrich. In preparation for this episode, I learned its true name is

[00:01:16] Daydreamin', but in my head, I still call it by the other name. I bring this up because, as I've mentioned

[00:01:24] here a number of times, there are subtypes of OCD that have nothing to do with germs or cleanliness.

[00:01:31] One subtype we've discussed before is avoidance. Avoidance OCD is that ostrich burying its head in

[00:01:41] the sand. It's not laziness. It's anxiety and fear. Fear of making a mistake, fear of something going

[00:01:50] horribly wrong, bad news, or perfectionism rearing its ugly head to mire you down in hours of work

[00:02:01] that neurotypical people could knock out much faster. So the brain just refuses to act. And of course,

[00:02:10] that is the absolute worst thing it can do. Because the thing, whatever it is, is still there. And now,

[00:02:19] it's even closer. And there's less time to deal with it. Something anxiety producing all on its own.

[00:02:27] I wish I could say I have a lot of tips, but it's one of the OCD subtypes I identify most with.

[00:02:36] I've tried withholding things I enjoy until I've at least tackled part of the thing, if it's a task.

[00:02:43] I don't read, play a favorite game, or go online until I've accomplished a bit of whatever it is,

[00:02:51] and then reward myself with those hobbies. A good reminder for all dealing with this problem

[00:02:59] comes from Proverbs 6, which tells us to look at ants. They are a colony with no ruler,

[00:03:05] but they prepare for the winter in advance as one unit. Though technically, ostriches don't truly bury

[00:03:14] their heads in the sand as we've always believed, but it's a good metaphor. Our meme for today says,

[00:03:21] burying your head only gets sand in your eyes. If there's an obstacle holding you back,

[00:03:29] what is it and how have you addressed it? Chime in below.

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