- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
Have you considered if there's any secondary gains to your OCD? I know I've tried lots in the past to no avail, but have recently been exploring the possibility that I might be clinging to my OCD because it benefits me in some strange twisted way, and if you can find the secondary gain you can work to mitigate it. If you haven't already done so I'd recommend doing a bit of googling around secondary gains to see if anything resonates with you. If not then sometimes it can just be a case of finding the right therapist
- Date posted
- 6y
ERP is the gold standard to treat ocd. Traditional talk therapy will not fix OCD. Act, DBT, and some cbt skills can be helpful additions but exposure therapy (ERP) is what will treat ocd.
- Date posted
- 6y
See, I’ve done all of that in my CBT rounds. And nothing has worked. I’ve started like other stuff and nothing worked
- Date posted
- 6y
Interesting! Did it work at all like any improvements? I'm doing ERP now and have been for awhile. My OCD is still pretty bad but definitely better than it was starting.
- Date posted
- 6y
Nope nothing has worked. The specialist clinic in the UK has given up on me
- Date posted
- 6y
Question, did you do the exposures but weren't able to stop doing compulsions outside of exposure work?
- Date posted
- 6y
I did the exposures all the time, my anxiety never went down. I didn’t do compulsions but my anxiety was so bad I’d have panic attacks and stuff
- Date posted
- 6y
Were you still ruminating when doing the exposures? Rumination is like a mental compulsion. I hope I'm not coming across harsh I'm genuinely interested.
- Date posted
- 6y
Sometimes it doesn't work because the exposures aren't designed correctly to target your obsessions. Other times it could be that you are engaging in mental compulsions that you aren't aware are even compulsions and that is the hang-up. But for a minority of people, they won't improve significantly even with a properly designed ERP program that they are doing correctly. Have you also tried medication and deep TMS? There are also second and third line medications that are helpful to some. Those options could offer some symptom reduction. There are also variants of psychosurgery that have benefited people who did not get relief from ERP, medications, and deep TMS.
- Date posted
- 6y
Could you share more about deep TMS? I have not heard of it before.
- Date posted
- 6y
Search for Brainsway. They have videos and more on their website explaining it. It's a very non-invasive treatment with virtually no side effect potential, but it is newer so it isn't widely covered by insurance yet. I don't know what the situation is where you live.
- Date posted
- 6y
Great thanks I'll look it up
- Date posted
- 6y
Thank you so much guys, I wasn’t expecting the replies!! ❤️
Related posts
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 23w
Looking back, I realize I’ve had OCD since I was 7. though I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 30. As a kid, I was consumed by fears I couldn’t explain: "What if God isn’t real? What happens when we die? How do I know I’m real?" These existential thoughts terrified me, and while everyone has them from time to time, I felt like they were consuming my life. By 12, I was having daily panic attacks about death and war, feeling untethered from reality as depersonalization and derealization set in. At 15, I turned to drinking, spending the next 15 years drunk, trying to escape my mind. I hated myself, struggled with my body, and my intrusive thoughts. Sobriety forced me to face it all head-on. In May 2022, I finally learned I had OCD. I remember the exact date: May 10th. Reading about it, I thought, "Oh my God, this is it. This explains everything." My main themes were existential OCD and self-harm intrusive thoughts. The self-harm fears were the hardest: "What if I kill myself? What if I lose control?" These thoughts terrified me because I didn’t want to die. ERP changed everything. At first, I thought, "You want me to confront my worst fears? Are you kidding me?" But ERP is gradual and done at your pace. My therapist taught me to lean into uncertainty instead of fighting it. She’d say, "Maybe you’ll kill yourself—who knows?" At first, it felt scary, but for OCD, it was freeing. Slowly, I realized my thoughts were just thoughts. ERP gave me my life back. I’m working again, I’m sober, and for the first time, I can imagine a future. If you’re scared to try ERP, I get it. But if you’re already living in fear, why not try a set of tools that can give you hope?
- Date posted
- 19w
I’m starting NOCD. I had several years of cbt as a child (well over 20 years ago) and I see a trauma therapist. But now I’ll be seeking further help for OCD and just really scared. CBT wasn’t helpful for me. How has ERP been helpful for you? Do you feel like you’ll finally get your life back? I’m consumed by my obsessions 😢 Would love others feedback if ERP helped you ❤️
- Date posted
- 18w
I have had ocd for decades! Could I still be cured???? (Of you can call it that?) I have seen different therapists but it never had fully left me...not by any stretch of the imagination. I do want to be free of this ocd and its power over me and all the bad that it brought into my life!!! Some days I am strong and feel like I am fighting it put other days...many days...I don't get things done or if I do I take a long time to-do the things I need to get done. I feel like I know this is just then ocd stopping me and that these are just thoughts but nobody in my family understands and though they have shared my journey and hated it a I do.....it just feels like I want so bad to be the best person I coukd be but I avoid places, people, things, that have any reminder of my ocd.......and so it restricts me from getting better and completing tasks the way I used to. Now UI might go and make 2-3 trips cuz I am worried to shop at a place and therefore it takes my time up. The avoidance I do is bad! When I actually don't listen to my ocd and don't avoid something...I feel great! ,However, it happens so rarely!!! I.dont know how finding a therapist through NOCD will help me. It is not in person and two be honest I almost think I need medicine to push me along. I don't have anybsteady and consistent improvements. However, I don't think I want to be on medication for the rest of my life! I am very confused!
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