I recently had a traumatic experience and I have found that my OCD symptoms have skyrocketed. My main theme is health anxiety but even compulsions from my childhood, like checking things around the house have come roaring back. I feel like I’m struggling to separate the trauma anxiety and the ocd anxiety and I don’t even know where to start with erp.

lonerjayv3

19d ago

For me personally I have PTSD from drugs so I completely understand and basically start by agreeing with the PTSD thoughts that give you anxiety anytime u get a anxious thought immediately agree with the thought then fighting the thought that's what makes your anxiety worse when u try to fight it in anyway that's one way u can start by doing erp hope this helps

NOCD Therapist - Stacy Q.

19d ago

That is so hard to deal with. Stress, especially something traumatizing can definitely make OCD symptoms worse. It can feel so frustrating to have something go away for awhile only to come back later. I recommend working alongside a ERP/OCD specialist who can help you to determine the best exposure and response prevention exercises. They can also help you to determine what is trauma verses the OCD and the overlap of symptoms.