- Date posted
- 3y
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 3y
Hi! Exposure and Response Prevention is the gold standard treatment for OCD, anxiety, and related conditions. This means that it is by and large, with no other treatment coming close, the most effective way to treat OCD. It is in fact more effective for OCD and anxiety than any other treatment for any other disorder according to some of the evidence based literature. With that said, everyone is different. Research also shows that the one factor that is most consistently correlated with ongoing recovery is ritual prevention - that is, how often you are resisting your rituals. ERP will help you how to do that. We have lots of free tools on our app outside of just the forum and we are of course ready for you whenever/if you ever feel the need to start therapy! :) Good luck.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
In my experience, which is the only one I can speak to, ERP has been extremely effective in the treatment of my ocd. What you need to know is that ERP takes a commitment on your part to see results, even in those times when it feels too hard. Intrusive thoughts will never end because everyone has intrusive thoughts but those of us with OCD treat them with importance and ERP helps us to recognize intrusive thoughts and let them be without doing compulsions. It is common in the beginning to feel like it won’t get better, but that’s ocd trying to work its magic and the more you practice ERP the less alarmed you will become by intrusive thoughts. I hope this helps.
- Date posted
- 3y
Id like to know this too. Following
- Date posted
- 3y
I'm a few weeks in and I'd say it's helping! It's uncomfortable but I think the thing is not that the thoughts disappear, it's just that you can become less bothered by them, and they don't scare you as much. So you stop really noticing them as much. We all have loads of thoughts all the time, but most we let go or don't attach much meaning to. With ocd, some of those thoughts - normally about things we really care about - feel impossible to let go. We wonder what they mean, we feel like we have to know an answer, have to make it feel better, and that's where the compulsions come in. So if we can make our reaction to the ocd thoughts - the ones we really care about - more like all the other ones, we can get a lot less bothered by them. Like I said I'm only a few weeks in but I have noticed a difference, and I'm catching myself a bunch of times before i ruminate on something for the 100th time. Solidarity for the thoughts! Sounds like that's been hard
- Date posted
- 3y
I think what is tripping me up is something my fiancé lied about the past 2 yrs. I asked him & he denied it. Then i stopped thinking about it & the truth came out that it actually did happen. It is something that is on my mind CONSTANTLY & then I wonder amen will it happen again because I know it will
- Date posted
- 3y
Yeah at some point I start laughing about my thoughts like they are just amusing. Like that's the point to have these really weirdo thoughts and be like ehhh whatever. That is kind of weird to me and wonderful when that happens. like what an effed up thought, okay! Haha.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
I’m starting NOCD. I had several years of cbt as a child (well over 20 years ago) and I see a trauma therapist. But now I’ll be seeking further help for OCD and just really scared. CBT wasn’t helpful for me. How has ERP been helpful for you? Do you feel like you’ll finally get your life back? I’m consumed by my obsessions 😢 Would love others feedback if ERP helped you ❤️
- Date posted
- 22w
Hi! I've been on my OCD healing journey for about half a year and I have seen a lot of success. I'm reaching out for advice, I am very willing to do exposures because I know the more I do them, the more I get better, but I struggle with the response prevention part. I don't know how to control my brain when it comes to facing the fears especially since most of my compulsions are mental. I can tell myself the typical things "I am okay with the uncertainty of this happening", etc. but its like my brain doesn't believe them. I've been stuck in this disconnect for a while and would love advice you have heard from a therapist or learned that has really help you.
- Date posted
- 21w
How do people start practicing erp on their own? Because I tried yesterday, and it helped for like two hours, but it always comes back and scares me. I don’t think i can practice it the right way without help.
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