Is ERP hard ? I've seen a lot of posts which say that doind ERP is hard . I don't find it that way . Am i doing it right ? Whenever I set out to do ERP I find out that I don't get as triggered as I do on a normal basis . It seems as though being prepared to resist my compulsion lessens the trigger a lot ( about 1_3 on the scale ) does anyone else feel this way ?
I'm really excited to hear the process has been pretty straightforward for you! Some people do find it quite difficult, but there are a lot of people who find it less difficult to engage in and experience pretty quick relief. It just varies from person to person.
For me personally it was hard to do when I first did it as my therapist had me do worksheets with it. Which I'm assuming is standard and works for a lot. But in that scenario I could never make myself reach those heights of anxiety...I certainly could work myself up when not doing a worksheet, but with the sheet it was difficult. This in itself became a source of anxiety as I'm assuming it is with you as well. So basically I did/do the bulk of my ERP in the moment when the anxiety is pumping on all cylinders on its own. Good luck with your journey!
Hi I know how you feel I feel the same during ERP
Have you tried replacement therapy?
Thank y'all for answering . Ok , try to picture this ... I sit down to do my ERP for the day and , on my to do list , I've got to practice writing while hearing some triggering sounds . I do my exercise starting off with about a three on my scale and a few minutes later , I get down to one and I'm urged by the system to move on to another exercise , so yay ! Im happy and I move on to the next exercise . Prior to finishing the sound trigger exercise aforementioned , I kinda get into what I'm doing so much that I may not even notice the sound anymore . I mean , l do struggle a little, I feel little anxiety , but I nail the exercise nonetheless . Now this i a good thing obviously , but imagine this also; It's early in the morning , I've had a good night's rest and I just want to sit down and read my books . As I read I start to get distracted by the things around me _ could be anything really , from the sounds of the ticking clock to the birds chirping outside to my reading speed ... So on and so forth . One of my major distractions when it comes to reading / studying is the sounds I hear _ they don't have to be loud or noisy , they just have to be there . As soon as I become aware of them , I just can't seem to unhear them any more . This is so annoying . So there , you know my struggle , 🙂 . The ERP says , " this is getting easy for you , it's time to move on . Reality says , the ERP was easy for you but right here , right now , you're not as fully guarded to resist your compulsion so here we go . OCD has made reading and writing hard for me 😥 . The exercises are working no doubt but I don't think I'm ready to stop some of them because the system says I'm ready to move on . I think I should tarry with them a little longer until studying/reading becomes easier for me
How do you do ERP? I'm not asking generally, but rather how do you, the person reading this, do ERP? I'm at the point where I'm trying to work out how to do ERP for myself (largely self-directed as I don't see my psychologist more than once every few weeks), and I'm trying to get an idea of what it looks like on a practical level. Do you try and do ERP every day? Multiple times a day? How long do you spend on each exposure/session? Do you do ERP at the same time every day, or do you change it up? What do you do after you've done an exposure, do you do any self-care once the exposure is finished? I see things online saying that it can take upwards of an hour for distress to decrease when doing an exposure, and I'm wondering what are you allowed to do during that time? If the goal of ERP is to sit with the distress, do you literally just sit there for an hour doing nothing until the anxiety goes down? That's a long time to sit doing nothing but feel anxious, especially if the goal is to do this every day. Right now I'm struggling with implementing ERP into my routine. I currently do ERP sporadically, and not on any kind of schedule. I'm struggling to find exposures that distress me sufficiently, and when I do find something I'll still find myself feeling anxious hours later even after I thought I'd acclimatized. I'd really appreciate hearing from other people so that I can get an idea of what good ERP looks like in practice.
This question is for those who have already started ERP: Do your obsessive themes seem realer to you for a little while after doing ERP?
It feels like I can never even get to be able to get there. It shakes me to my core and writing out my fears, triggers, and compulsions today for my therapist made my OCD finally feel real and that it’s not just my anxiety. Has anyone else struggled with this? Any tips for newbies who are scared 💩less?
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