- Date posted
- 3y ago
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Hello! You’re right OCD thoughts feel so real, I’ve experienced it as well. I push myself by thinking about how much happier I will be when I get over these thoughts. These thoughts have stolen so much of our time and energy. OCD has ruined our days and our life experiences. Think of how much OCD has taken from you. Use that as motivation to beat this. Take it one day at a time, second by second. What can you do in this moment to better yourself? Don’t worry about the future and what else you will need to face with ERP. Just focus on the current moment and keep building on the momentum. You got this!
- Date posted
- 3y ago
I tell myself that I'm tougher than I feel. And my OCD proves it. Listen: you have lived with OCD. That is *hard* to do. It's exhausting, distracting, overwhelming... Before you ever had a name for it, you were carrying that heavy load all the time and my guess is that you were doing it alone. ERP is not easy. But you are no longer alone and *now,* carrying this burden has a purpose. Now you are pursuing your recovery. That's tremendous! And through ERP with a therapist, you are only picking up as much as you know you can handle. You're learning that you are capable of holding much more discomfort and uncertainty than your OCD ever let you believe before. So when the thoughts feel real (and of course they do! this is our old pal OCD we're talking about; we know exactly how real those things feel, that's why we're here!), you tell yourself what you already know: "I can handle this." It will pass. And like Greg said, it's helpful to remember why you're here (what OCD has taken from you) and where you're headed (the recovery your OCD is heading into). OCD is tough, but you are tougher, friend. You've got this!
- Date posted
- 3y ago
What did you say to yourself when your thoughts felt so real and you get lost in them and stuck in a loop?
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Try to take your mind off of the thought by doing something you like. It’s okay that the thoughts are coming in. Just let the thoughts be there. Try not to analyze them. I know it’s so rough being stuck in the loop. You have to break the cycle of OCD by cutting out compulsions. This will stop you being stuck in a loop. You can do this!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w ago
i don’t think i can, i can’t stomach the possibility of these things, or maybe i can (because they might be true and deep down i know that) and just don’t want to and want to pretend it isn’t there. i can’t do ERP, i just want to pretend it isnt there and won’t happen to clarify, i know i have to do ERP, i know it’s necessary; i don’t need to be told this, this is just how i am feeling currently
- Date posted
- 13w ago
I’ve noticed that I’m somewhat happier also ignoring my thoughts than I am instead of doing compulsions (I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired atp) but I’ve heard you’re technically supposed to do erp rather than pushing under the rug. But idk if I have a thought I just refuse to think about it again and im fine even if I want to do compulsions
- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 8w ago
So you got to ask me anything… Now I’d like to ask you something! I’ve heard from Members that they were so scared coming to their first ERP session. They were terrified that I would think they were crazy, that I would tell them their worst fears were true. That I would confirm they are some form of a terrible person or have them hauled off to prison for their thoughts. I’ve also had Members share how they’re very scared to begin ERP treatment because they’ve researched enough to know it means facing the fear, without the compulsions that have kept them feeling safe (but not really safe) this entire time. They struggled to see how they could be capable of doing this, while simultaneously acknowledging that they did not want to live like this anymore. If you have had your first session, what were your thoughts before? Did you have any hesitations or fears going into it? How did it turn out? If you haven’t yet begun to work with an ERP specialist, what is holding you back?
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