- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
Hi alittleapple, Thank you for reaching out--it sounds like this is really causing you a lot of distress. If I'm understanding correctly, it sounds like there are two obsessions going on here: an intrusive thought that says "if I send this text I will act on my fear" and an intrusive thought that says "if my therapist doesn't reply to the text something bad will happen." (I'm not sure if it's the same bad thing or not, but from what you wrote I'm guessing it's different.) So treating the first thought as an exposure, by sending the text and sitting with your anxiety that maybe doing that means you will now act on your fear, also means there's a chance you'll have to do the second exposure whether you like it or not. It's definitely a tangle. I would agree that the best thing to do is send the texts anyway. Not sending the texts because you're scared that it might mean your therapist might not reply, which might mean something bad will happen, a) is an avoidance compulsion that will make both those fears worse b) risks cutting you off from a much-needed avenue of support. It sucks to have to cope with two exposures at once, but in the long run, it's less painful than always having to cope with both those fears at once. Exposure therapy-wise, there actually isn't much difference between an exposure you do intentionally and an exposure that is out of your control. Once I had something happen where there was no way to be sure whether or not my worst fear had come to pass for several days. Of course, I spent that whole time panicking. I asked my therapist what exposures I should do to cope with my anxiety, and she said "none, because the exposure already happened. Now you do the response prevention." I didn't have a choice but to do the opposite of what OCD wanted, because what OCD wanted was for me to go back in time. And it was really hard. But doing my response prevention meant even though I hadn't chosen to do that exposure, it got easier. Sometimes life is going to throw you exposures that you have no control over. And part of OCD recovery is moving from planned exposures in therapy to the exposures we encounter in daily life, the ones that aren't intentional. There will always be situations where we don't get a choice. But we still have a choice in how we respond. I hope this helps. I know you said you feel like giving up, but you didn't. You came here. You got this. <3
Related posts
- Date posted
- 24w
my therapist isnt avaible for a this week and this weeks been hell, cant focus, i keep getting stuck in my thoughts, if i predict something will happen and it doesnt, my brain gets stuck on what if it did and then my obession keeps going, i keep trying to not pay attention or let go of my thoughts but feels like im in a trance when the thoughts come up and feels hard to snap out of it. also since my ocd is to the point of disability (despite social security keeps denying me) i cant go out much and my fears have been getting more and more dehabilitating and i dont know how to properly fix it, i dont know the right way to respond to these thoughts, i dont know how to let go, its just been super rough and demoralizing...
- Date posted
- 22w
I went to talk to a psychiatrist based off my Nocd therapists recommendation. I had a very hard week beforehand where I had anxiety so bad I couldn't leave my bed. It seems like once I get my period my anxiety and everything dissipated some so I talked to the psychiatrist. Anyways, I was immediately put off by her because she told me she didn't have any information on me included in the referral for one reason or another. So I had to basically "fill her in" on my life story. I have anxiety disorder, panic disorder, OCD and PTSD. I told her these things and how hard the last week had been. She started asking questions like I had bipolar disorder, which I don't have. She then wanted me to take buspar and Zoloft TOGETHER daily. I know for a fact you never start two medications daily at once. You don't know which one is causing symptoms if you do. So I immediately didn't like that. I asked her about Zoloft specifically daily because it is an SSRI what I should do if it gave me thoughts of harm for myself. She told me "just go to the hospital".... Now, I don't wanna say that was the worst possible thing she could have said to me, but it was. Because now my OCD is spiraling that just my general harm OCD thoughts are enough to mean I need to go to the hospital. It had been 2 days and I cannot stop obsessing that maybe I'm depressed or suicidal because of this. I know I don't want anything to happen to me. I love my family and my friends. I am scared of death. But the thought is sticky and it's been so, so frustrating. My anxiety has been so frustrating. I feel so lost and like nothing I'm trying to fix my issues is working very well. NOCD therapy has been one of the only things to help in the long term, but I still get terrified of certain obsessions like suicide. I don't really know what to do, if anyone has any advice or any personal experience that may help, anything would be nice right now. I've felt so lost trying to figure it all out.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 21w
I had to cancel my therapy because it was no longer available with my insurance. And I just kind of feel hopeless with OCD. Even when I was doing therapy, I think my OCD started getting too complicated for my therapist and she didn’t even know what to do. My fears are so complex it’s crazy. So my big fear is my OCD being bad and being super depressed again like I was a few months ago in high school. I attended a public highschool for a semester and started the worst flare up I’ve ever had. I was harshly bullied for no reason whatsoever, and not accepted by anyone. I am an athletic kid who usually keeps to himself so I didn’t understand why people targeted me, especially when I wanted nothing to do with them. From August to now ( March) I CANNOT grasp hold of my OCD. I am very hard on myself about it. Going into dangers anytime I see one so I can expose myself. But constantly obsessing about if I’m doing enough for my OCD. And comparing myself to how I use to be, before the flare ups. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep I’m obsessing about my OCD and if it’s bad and comparing. Another HUGE fear of mine is being treated differently because I have OCD. So being bullied for so long I always assumed it was because I was shy and didn’t want to stand up for myself - due to my OCD- so I blamed myself for everything that continued to happen, . from people bullying me in the past . The people at that highschool were downright crazy. Even the teachers and coaches had major issues and I’m so glad to be out of there, but I still obsess the same everyday and hold so much resentment for that school and when I try to let it go, I just feel more passive pain and obsess even more about it weather my ocd is okay or not. I feel mentally sick. Please someone give me some advice for my fears, because I feel like I’m doing everything in my power to expose myself to everything but nothings working.
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