- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
Just to clarify, is this more of a role play scenario as in acting out your feads so you can sit with the anxiety or does your therapist want you to break up for real? ROCD isn't a theme of mine (that I know of) so I'm not super familiar with some of the common scenarios that come with it. If its practice then it sounds similar to script writing exercises for harm ocd. If its not practice that sounds weird?
Thanks for this question- first I would want you to clarify with the ERP therapist that this is indeed what they meant. I am wondering if this was meant as a imaginal exposure or if somehow the communication was not good- you may practice it on your own but not in front of the boyfriend so that you experience the anxiety associated with this- without actually breaking up, but I would consult with your therapist and work together to come up with the most effective ERP for your situation. Hope this helps some.
it does! she actually wants me to call and break up with him. that feels kind of extreme to me.
Nope, but saying it/writing it out over and over again, yes.
did that help you?
@taylersmith One of many exercises but yes.
@Nica okay. i ask because i don’t know how i feel about my therapist wanting me to break up with my boyfriend like that feels weird to me.
@taylersmith I am not doing ERP right now, but even before I learned about rocd, I tried breaking up with my partner and literally a couple of hours later it felt wrong. The moment I hang up the phone (we are long distance) I regretted it so bad. I guess that's how I knew
@SkyeV yes i understand that completely because i asked my bf for a break and then i regretted it, just the idea of this makes me uncomfortable
@taylersmith They’re not telling you to break up with your boyfriend. It’s role playing.
@Nica she wants me to physically call him and do it. she said sometimes he will be aware that it’s going to happen and sometimes he won’t be.
@taylersmith Still sounds like role playing to me 🤷🏻♀️ Tell him about the homework from your therapist.
I read about ERP and have seen information about it on here. One of the goals is to say, "maybe I am this or that...ect." That terrified me. The thoughts and images that go in my head are disturbing and upsetting. I don't want to even think about saying, "maybe this or that." It's devasting to have these thoughts and question why you're having these thoughts. Doesn't the "maybe" make it worse? The one thing that helps me is that is to remind myself that these are just thoughts and I know I'm not a monster, even if I feel like one. Is ERP not for everyone? Has anyone else had a problem with the techniques used in this kind of therapy? I had cognitive therapy for years with an OCD specialist and that seemed to help a lot. Writing out the worst case scenarios would make me suicidal. Im having a difficult time not obsessing over the "maybe" after intrusive thoughts now. It doesn't make it better.
I am at a very difficult spot in my relationship. My boyfriend and I have been together for 6 years, and I have a history of cheating that for years we’ve been trying to work through. To me, it makes a lot of sense that my OCD has attached itself to this and for the last few years I’ve experienced intrusive sexual thoughts of others and relationship ocd. I have been open to him about the content of my thoughts and now, with a proper diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, I am able to reframe them and work through them with ERP so that my brain will *hopefully* get bored and stop sending them. But, things have not been easy. As a result of this and everything in our past, he has become anxious about all the scenarios where I could be having sexualized thoughts about other people. To him, if I am thinking something utterly different than what I am telling him or acting like to him, he can’t fully trust it. And of course, I can imagine how difficult it is to know your life partner is sexualizing others in her brain and to be able find a way to dismiss them as unthreatening, especially when past mistakes say otherwise. Is there anyone that has gone through this with a partner? And other than repeatedly explaining the egodystonic nature of my thoughts and providing reassurance, what are some things you did that helped them? Any advice helps! Thank you
hey guys, i've been seeing a general therapist because i didn't know if i had ocd or not, but then she did end up diagnosing me with ocd so now i know i do (i also went through nocd and they diagnosed me too but stopped because its too expensive) the thing is, my current therapist is a general therapist and is NOT specialized in ocd care and hasn't given ERP before, she's learning for me and we've done two exporsure sessions but i can't stop from thinking about how she's not the upmost qualified for this, she's helping though and i've gotten better since i've started seeing her, idk if it's just my ocd being picky or what, anyone go through something similar and have any advice?
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