Tips for relapse?

Does anyone have any tips for a relapse? I know OCD recovery is never linear but I’ve been doing very well (minimal intrusive thoughts/ just brushing them off and not caring) for about a year now and I did something really stupid that triggered me (knowing it would probably trigger me) and now I’m in a little bit of a spiral. I know how to deal with everything but it’s just so exhausting and I feel very hopeless at the moment. It’s also happened at a very stressful time because I’m revising for big exams coming up and I cannot focus on revision at all. Any tips would be gratefully appreciated (although I’m aware the best way is probably to sit with the discomfort). Thank you :)

"Pure" OCD

autisticompu...

Date posted: 3y

Hi Clementine, I'm sorry you're dealing with this right now. I can absolutely relate to how you're feeling--you can tell that you're in a vulnerable place re: relapse, and you KNOW you know what to do, but that doesn't always make doing it any easier. When I'm feeling like I'm in in that place, I go back to a powerpoint that my IOP gave me about Relapse Prevention, so I'm taking a look at it right now to see what it says that might be relevant to you. 1) Setbacks are normal, temporary occurrences. A single sign of getting worse doesn't necessarily mean that relapse is more inevitable. 2) Minor relapses can be a great opportunity to learn more about what gives you trouble 3) Revisit what worked for you before. Last time you were in this place, you didn't have all the skills that you do now. This is not the same as being "back where you were before". 4) Don't try harder, try different. 5) Get support [which you're doing here! Also, if you're seeing a NOCD therapist, have you checked out the support groups?] 6) Consider booster sessions with your therapist and/or increasing self-directed structured exposures 7) Accept anxiety and welcome it with open arms [there's that sitting with the discomfort bit...] 8) Show yourself self-compassion and self-care--talk to yourself like you are your best friend, remind yourself of relaxation techniques you find effective, etc. And there's one other thing in this that blows my mind. It's this: there's no setbacks without progress, and no progress without setbacks. Setbacks are, in fact, proof of progress. You literally cannot have a setback without having made progress--otherwise, you'd have nothing to set back *to*! You're dead right to say that progress isn't linear, but this suggests as well that setbacks are *necessary* for progress. Whenever I'm struggling, I try to remind myself of that. I hope this helps! Go you for recognising that you're in this spiral and taking steps to get yourself out, including reaching out for support here. You got this!

Clementine

Date posted: 3y

Oh my goodness this was exactly what I needed. Thank you so much! It’s just so difficult accepting a set back and there’s that horrible feeling of just wanting to back to how things were a few days ago when I felt ‘normal’. This gave me the strength to get out of bed so thank you, again :)

cows12465

Date posted: 21w

suic. ocd

does anyone else with this theme feel like their suic. ocd skyrockets when something in your life happens?? i’ve been doing so good managing these thoughts and not panicking, but i had a event happen in my life and all of them are back hitting hard. i’m arguing with myself on whether im actually depressed or not and “what if this means my thoughts are real”, it’s all what if thoughts, but because ive been doing so good with them, what if they are real this time? like im panicking again because im scared they are real? like i’m not depressed im just going through a few things right now. idk what it is. but i really need tips on how to help with setbacks and what to do to stop myself from arguing with my mind when i already know the truth.

joshd

Date posted: 21w

Trying not to think of intrusive thoughts

I been dealing with OCD my entire life but recently I been finding it really difficult to find the slightest relief. I know it’s not good to do but I been trying not to think of the thoughts but of course they come back even stronger. Does anyone know what I could do in the meanwhile ? Thank you

Hi_1

Date posted: 18w

Advice?

I’ve been stuck in this cycle for the last month or two and am not sure how to get out of it. Basically, I will work on ignoring the thoughts and not responding or engaging plus limiting/completely eliminating compulsions. After a week or two of constant work, the amount of intrusive thoughts in a day goes down. The anxiety each thought causes also goes down with some, but not all, thoughts passing without notice like they would for a normal person. The thoughts that do stick cause anxiety and make me want to ruminate or do other compulsions but I make sure to limit them. After a bit, I’m in a pretty good head space. This is usually when it goes down hill. I’ll start to question if I even have ocd because some of the thoughts (once again not all) pass without notice. The difficulty resisting compulsions goes down and so does the anxiety, only increasing the questioning. I spend a while questioning if I’ve ever had ocd in the first place and then something sets me off or the questioning itself becomes a trigger and I get stuck back into the same ocd cycle with constant rumination, anxiety, and other compulsions. This lasts for a week or two before I know I need to stop and try and work hard to get back to ignoring the thoughts. And the cycle just restarts over and over again. Does anyone have any tips to stop this from happening? It’s really harming my recovery as every few weeks I dive back into the same negative place I was.

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