Hi Lil,
Welcome to the forum, and thanks for posting!
I'm a 23 year old female, and I've had anxiety/OCD for a decade now.
It's great you have a psychiatrist helping you, and that you're able to have some much needed time off work. Having a full-time job must be full-on, especially if you work overtime or have a lot of pressure from bosses or colleagues. I am in my last semester of a psych degree at uni, and I have never had a part-time or full-time job! I've volunteered for the last few years, babysat since 18, and lasted several months in a retail job, but that is it thus far! What sort of job role do you have, if you don't mind saying?
Do you see another professional as well (aside from the psychiatrist) about psychological coping strategies, such as mindfulness, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)? Learning coping strategies is crucial. Here is a link about CBT and what it entails: http://www.aacbt.org/viewStory/WHAT+IS+CBT%3F ; this link provides info about ACT: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/two-takes-depression/201102/acceptance-and-commitment-therapy
When I took time off study several years ago to focus on recovery from a bout of mental illness, I had to find ways to occupy myself. What I found enjoyable and absorbing was making scrapbook-like collages. I used old and new photos, scenery and image cuttings from magazines, I wrote quotes, stuck down cards and notes sent to me, articles of interest and so on. I bought white A3 display folders from Officeworks and A3 unlined notepaper to stick the items to. I used blu-tack, small amounts of glue, or Sellotape Sticky Dots (mainly for photos) to secure the flat items onto pages. I tried to give pages a theme, or group similar items. It's a fun way of displaying photos and other meaningful images, ideas and items.
Watch comedy clips of Wil Anderson on youtube - he is a hilarious genius! If you like reading, is there a book group you could join? This may be a bit tricky because of your current mental health situation, but I thought I'd add it as a suggestion. Personal reading can be an enjoyable way to spend time. For a fun read, I recommend The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion.
If at any point during a difficult day or night you want to talk to someone, give beyond blue's 24/7 helpline a call on 1300 22 4636. It doesn't need to be an emergency.
It'd be great to hear back from you 🙂
Best wishes,
SM
