- Date posted
- 2y ago
Can you have any idea.
How could i do erp if i have lot of new intrusive thoughts daily..
How could i do erp if i have lot of new intrusive thoughts daily..
ERP is the same for every ocd thought! Whatever it is you’re having OCD about the best coping skill my therapist shared with me was inviting and welcoming uncertainty. If you’re worried you have cancer, say maybe I have cancer maybe I don’t. If you’re worried you might be going to hell, say maybe I am maybe I’m not. If you’re worried you’re actually an ax murderer and a psychopath because you watch murder documentaries and what does that mean about you that you watch murder documentaries does that mean you’re actually a horrible person, say maybe I am maybe I’m not. Lol. Ocd can be funnny honestly, like typing those out sound ludicrous but in the moment it all feels so urgently dangerously real. Also saying I don’t have to figure this out right now, helps a lot. I have almost all the themes and my ocd is random but I’ve found the coping skill treats every worry. Don’t forget to enjoy your life! When you say I don’t have to figure this out right now, it’s not surpressing the thought and pushing it away, which can be a compulsion, it’s just saying okay maybe that’s true maybe I do have rabies because that cat bit me, but I’m going to go swimming with my friends (or whatever it is in your life you have to do that’s definitely better than getting caught in a thought loop) and worry about that later. Hopefully these things help you!:)
Thank you very much..😃
Oh also when you say I don’t have to figure this out right now, if you keep saying it, it trains your brain to not think the thought is a danger. If you try to figure it out right then and there with urgency you TRAIN your brain to give you the intrusive thought more because your brain believes this is an ✨URGENT THREAT✨. Giving it the inattention lets your brain believe it’s not so pressing and I’ve found I eventually have the thought less and less and I never get to the point where “okay it’s time to figure it out now”. :)
ERP is all about exposing yourself to the possibility of the threat being real and just ✨not caring✨
Hi there John0. The skills taught via ERP can be applied to all types of OCD. Once you learn how to do it appropriately, you can use it to challenge your OCD thoughts, even if there is a new intrusive thought every day.
Research Buddhist meditation. Do that and then ERP. ERP becomes much easier if your mind is already balanced and calm.
Thanks @Roberts
Hi, I don’t know what to do anymore Pocd kills me I had many themes before but this theme is the hardest for me. I’m tired. I’m on therapy and meds but I barely do erp . I don’t have a reason I just don’t want to do it but today I will because I have to. I’m taking meds and they help with the anxiety for sure. But the obsessive part is still here . I’m almost 2 months on it (40 mg on Prozac) but I’m still super obsessed like I can have thoughts 24/7 every second of the day and not leave me alone. I have experienced a thought right now for a month + . It’s a thought to do compulsion/urge. My therapist says to let go and gives me tips how to she also tell me to do more erp. But I have this thought to do compulsion for more then month. Im scared what if I don’t have ocd the thought is 24/7. Do you think I should switch meds im so tired.
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
I struggle so bad with intrusive thoughts. They can be so bad that I'll cry because I KNOW that's not how I feel or want to do. (Too embarrassed to say what they're about) I'll constantly try to figure out why I have them, and constantly figure out what they mean, causing me to constantly circle around and around. I had to get on anxeity meds, which helped a little but the thoughts still happen. How do you help yourself with this? How do you know that you're just not some physcopath? 😅
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