- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
I feel the same way. Having a very hard time with ERP. How can one sit with their obsession without distraction, compulsion or rumination?
- Date posted
- 3y
I don't know. I think ERP can be helpful, I am not encouraging anyone to quit their treatment. It's a simply this unrealistic level of mental and emotional discipline that accompany it that I find doubtful...
- Date posted
- 3y
I have felt this way at times too, sometimes wondering if my whole life is a compulsion.
- Date posted
- 3y
Mine too...I'm sorry that you're going through this
- Date posted
- 3y
Yikes. I don't see a nocd therapist, but I have been in therapy for a long time (though not currently). I would say focus on one thing at a time and try not to do everything at once.
- Date posted
- 3y
Yes I think that's the right thing to do. It's the worst part about OCD, the questioning about everything, so focusing on one thing at a time feel like a good idea
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
I'm sorry to hear that. I haven't had that specific experience with my NOCD therapist. We discuss *specific* things to work on but I've never felt like she's told me that everything is potentially harmful. Is that literally what your therapist said or is this an interpretation your OCD is latching onto to discourage you from continuing treatment? It almost sounds like (at least based off of this post) that you're obsessing over the ERP itself.
- Date posted
- 3y
Ah no I am not talking about ERP. I don't see a NOCD therapist and I never did ERP (I have autism and possibly ADHD, and I am french so it would be complicated to use NOCD because my insurance doesnt work here and I need specific treatment). I was more refering to the articles that they send to my email, I'm at the point where ai am dreading the moment that they arrive because I think "Ok, what did I do wrong now ? What else should I watch out to ?" (And of course I don't dare to turn of the notifications because if I do then it'll be avoidance and I'd be a coward )
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y
@Kamisamahajimemashita1? Ahhh sorry I misunderstood! While I agree practicing avoidance would be bad, I do think you don't have to keep getting those emails if they are triggering. Like you don't want to flood yourself and do too much at once. Its ok to do things more slowly and make progress that way.
- Date posted
- 3y
@redmuse22 Yes that's what my mom told me as well...I suppose it is that I get overwhelmed very easily and I can't really recognize when something is too much for me or not, and I want so much to do the right things that sometimes it gets counterproductive... I am happy that it is working well with your therapist by the way, it didn't want to disprove ERP as a treatment, I'm sorry
- Date posted
- 3y
Maybe it would be helpful to just get exactly what you are supposed to do for ERP and then let the rest just be. Dont question it. So for example, my ERP phrase im supposed to say after an intrusive thought to not do rituals. Im supposed to repeat this over and over again until the anxiety is gone. Maybe JUST focus on your ERP phrase and repeating this. Dont question what else youre doing. Does that help?
- Date posted
- 3y
It helps a little, that is pretty good advice, maybe it would mean OCD won't have such a huge impact on my life where I think about it everytime I'm doing something... Luckily I'm pretty disciplined when it comes to keep myself from doing the compulsions...
- Date posted
- 3y
I get this because even my friends without ocd get stir crazy if they just sit there. Everyone I know does things to fill their day bc being idol makes them anxious. So are we not allowed to distract ourselves too? I am going through the same exact thing!
- Date posted
- 3y
Yes, sounds a bit like we're being punished right?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 17w
There’s this one situation that I haven’t stopped thinking about from last night . So basically, I was reading 'The power of Now' which is a book that I love so much and really got me into spirituality. It’s been so helpful for my OCD and rumination but it’s also been pretty triggering for it as of late, so I’ve taken a long break from consistently reading it. The excerpt I read was about abundance and how its not about being bountiful, necessarily in material things but realizing and being grateful for the things that exist in your life now and in doing so, you will open yourself up to more good things. I understood it but I re-read it a lot because I didn't feel confident enough to explain it to someone else. but otherwise I LOVED IT. It made me feel so at peace, I agreed with it, and it gave me hope to start focusing on the good things in my life rather than the bad. So when I went to bed I rehearsed myself explaining it to someone on a podcast and then all these questions started flooding in like “why should I only focus on the good and aren't we supposed to accept the good and bad? Aren’t those the values of Buddha and spirituality” “Ya, we're supposed to accept the good and the bad but why?- so we can feel more good??? And isn't the point of OCD to not label things as good and bad? and why should I focus on the good- so I can feel good? why should I feel good? because I'm worthy of it? why am I worthy of it? because I'm a good person and do good things? well I’ve also done bad things so why shouldn't I consider that. I just don’t understand why I should feel good without it being selfish. And then this went on for like 2 or 3 hours. Like holy shit. I over explain these ideas and concepts that I resonate with to the point where they don't even make sense to me anymore. It becomes very existensial very quick. And I’m not suicidal but these questions make me feel hopeless in society for some reason?? And myself. Like if everything contradicts everything then what’s the point to life? If nothing can be understood or explained in a senseful way, then how do people move forward and make decisions, like AT ALL? There’s never a right or perfect answer and I feel like with any decision I make in regards, I’m doing a compulsion either way. If I don’t answer them, then I’m avoiding it and if I do then I’m checking and seeking reassurance. I’m sorry if this was way too long and over-explained I just need some advice or to know if anyone can relate in any way. Also, I’m sorry if some of those back-to-back questions were triggering.
- Date posted
- 16w
Guys for the past couple of hours ive been spiraling! I wad researching and came across this harm ocd article question that has been worrying me. The title was "im scared of hurting someone when I'm mad. Can i trust myself?" And I was thinking "hey that's what ive been worried about for the past several months!" I even AVOID being angry. Im scared of it bc I get a lot of thoughts and I'm hyperaware of my hands and feel them tingly! Last time i tensed so hard to stay still as possible bc I was so so nervous from my thoughts and my hand twitched which made me SPIRAL. I never want to cause harm! And i always start crying after an argument bc the thoughts are so so scary! Anyway I got afraid bc the article said "research has shown that people with ocd don't struggle with impulse control- so if you find yourself intensely worried you could do harm based on the intrusive thoughts or urges you have, it's likely something else is going on." THAT SENTENCE HAS LEFT ME WITH A TON OF ANXIETY! Its so bad, my appetite is gone! I'm scared does this mean I don't have ocd and should be seriously concerned?!
- Date posted
- 12w
It is not the thoughts or urges that scare me anymore. It is the way I feel like I’ve absorbed the compulsions into my identity :( I am doing them so automatically that it feels like I am choosing them freely and they’re me. and because of that, it feels like I AM the OCD now, not just someone with OCD. I think I’m just deeply trapped in a loop. I was trying to survive unbearable fear so I started scanning. Then I started pre-scanning. Then checking if I pre-scanned. Then I check how I feel during all that. I run to beat my OCD to the “punchline” (intrusive thought, urge, sensation) because I’m so scared all the time. So scared that I don’t even feel it anymore. I feel numb and all that’s left is this jittery residue and numbness. Now it’s all tangled together in a huge knot. I feel so extremely lost. I think this may just be meta OCD, but I’ve never ever felt so gone before :( I’m really scared.
- Real Events OCD
- Young adults with OCD
- Mid-life adults with OCD
- Religion & Spirituality OCD
- BIPOC with OCD
- Students with OCD
- POCD
- Harm OCD
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond