Anyone here recovered who can send messages of hope over how successful treatment was or is for them?

I personally haven’t talked to any therapists on the app yet but here’s what I learnt. It’s temporary. Everytime you get the thoughts, you feel like there’s no hope and you can’t possibly imagine how you’ll get out of this, but remind yourself that you’ve thought that before and you got through it. Time is the only cure in these moments. Don’t try to fight it. Just take a second to recollect yourself and drink some water it helps. That’s the only tip that’s really been getting me through this. Also remember that your thoughts aren’t your secret desires, it’s literally you biggest fear. So for example if you are super protective over your loved ones, you might get intrusive thoughts that you might hurt them which is completely false because they are so precious to you. YOUR THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR FRIEND OR THE SECRET PART OF YOU IT IS THE OPPOSITE OF YOU. Remember that. Also, if some days you feel ok while the thoughts are here, you might think that you’re getting too comfortable with them and that you actually like them but again that’s not true. It’s like having a monster under your bed but after a while you get used to their presence but it doesn’t mean you enjoy it.

Hello, I had severe OCD and PTSD that flared in Nov 2019. I did ERP with a therapist Jan 2021 and OCT 2021 to Feb 2022. I am now doing ERP on my own. I went from being stuck in fear on my bed and literally feeling fear pushing back on my body physically when walking or trying to go places, had OCD 24/7 and several panic attacks daily to where I am now. Being able to say F you OCD and move on, rarely getting triggered, working again- part time for now and rare panic attacks.... Do the work!!!! IT IS WORTH IT! Oh and spending much of the day happy with a smile on my face and not obsessed. lol Good luck to you on your journey. Continue on even when it's hard and even when you are unsure what the future holds. ALWAYS hold onto hope!

Hello! I was very deep into OCD. I couldn’t eat or sleep for a month and it was truly awful. I felt like I was an exception and I would never recover from OCD. I felt like I was weak and I couldn’t do exposures. The fact is it was just OCD telling me this. I started doing ERP, a little step at a time. I kept building on my progress, little by little. These little steps started to build on top of each other and soon I was seeing progress. Doing ERP is tough and it’s not a linear path. Sometimes you fail, sometimes you fall off the path. You just got to pick yourself up and keep going. You can do this!

I’m working with a therapist 3/week i deal with contamination ocd and anxiety. I feel like it is helping it took about 3- 4 weeks to see change I’m on week 7 still struggling with some stuff but better with some erp is a process and the more you do it the faster it goes I definitely could and should do more. I think working with a therapist is super helpful it will give you tools to use and set up a plan and gives you someone to talk to who will give you advice that will actually help🤍

There are lots of stories that people can tell you, but each person’s recovery is different. There are a lot of factors involved, and so I would not judge your recovery against another person’s recovery. For example, I have found the most important piece to recovery is my commitment to erp. ERP is hard work, it can feel counterproductive, I am feel worse before I get better, but the truth is my commitment to my recovery is the key to my success. For you it may be something different that motivates your recovery, and that is okay. And honestly, to answer your question that there is success and all you have to is this or that is reassurance and not something we want to do. Compulsions make ocd stronger. I hope this helps.