If you’ve done research about your best treatment options for OCD, you’ve probably heard about exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy. Hundreds of studies have demonstrated ERP’s efficacy, and it’s proven to be just as effective in a telehealth setting. Yet, despite ERP’s often transformative impact, many people with OCD often feel hesitant to start it. From witnessing thousands of conversations in the OCD community and my own personal experience, I’ve seen that misunderstandings about what ERP actually entails often keep people from getting the help they need. You see, people with OCD experience exposures—the “E” in ERP—in daily life, even if they’re not doing ERP therapy. What they’re missing is the “RP”: response prevention. With personalized guidance from a specialist, they can learn how to respond to these unplanned exposures without engaging in compulsions, allowing them to get better over time. Read more about why it’s so important to understand how ERP therapy works if you want to recover from OCD.

That's so nice to hear! I always pull out because I get so scared of it. Its so discouraging.

@Olenka Greenoe Do you work with a OCD-therapist?

@Tidal Maéve Have you spoken about this with your therapist?

@path Yes thank you I will continue to push through

@Tidal Maéve I also suggest you learn Learn about ERP, here are a few descriptions: https://iocdf.org/about-ocd/ocd-treatment/erp/ https://www.treatmyocd.com/what-is-ocd/what-is-erp

@Tidal Maéve Same

@Anonymous Sounds like you are not connected to your body while doing the exposures. Ask your thrapist to explain the method better.

Hey there! I am sorry to hear that you feel it is not working as effective as you would like it to. A couple of thoughts/ideas. First and most important, talk to your therapist! They can help you to determine/problem solve what may be happening. What it sounds like they are doing is what we call a script- which can be very effective when done properly and practiced consistently and without engaging in compulsions before, after or during exposures. Second, maybe you could do a different type of exposure surrounding the same fears? Sometimes people just need different exposures that fit them better or maybe the exposure needs adjusted. It can take time for these exposures to work. Remember that the goal of ERP is not that the thoughts disappear, it is that you feel less and less anxiety surrounding them and that you recognize that you are able to tolerate the anxiety and distress that the thoughts bring. You also learn that you don't need to give meaning to the thoughts, they are just thoughts. Please speak with your therapist about how you are feeling.

It works as long as you don't compulse. Otherwise it's useless.

@lsatt @holyshii I am curious what clinics you have utilized?