Seeking inspiring recovery stories to find hope in a difficult time.

I used to go crazy at home just thinking I was in the wrong place, surrounded by the wrong people, doing the wrong thing for my career, etc. With ERP and a lot of help from a therapist here I'm now happy and can do other things with my life rather than just thinking over and over. It took about a year for me to truly get there but I'm so happy i did it.

Yes! I am so sorry you’re feeling this way, I’ve been there too. I have more details of my story in my profile bio, but in summary: OCD used to take over my life, and because I didn’t understand how it worked I blamed myself for a long time thinking there was something wrong with me. When I finally started ERP, I was scared but also ready to change my behavior for my long term mental health. During my first exposure (putting away groceries without washing my hands), I cried. I had alllll the doubt about the process, wondering if it would work, how I would do it, etc. Then, I remember going to the gas station a month or so into treatment and touching the gas handle without washing or sanitizing my hands. I was AMAZED that ERP had begun to work and felt so proud of myself. ERP can be hard work. Even now, I have days where life feels easy and days where I feel more anxious. But it is so worth it. Going through the process showed me that I was in control of my life and my actions, not OCD. And now I feel so confident in who I am, in my ability to make decisions, and brave the hard stuff. Practically, my life has also completely changed because I can do sooo many things now that I didn’t do before. Trust that this feeling of desperation will pass. You can get through this, and we are all rooting for you in this community! 💜

Hi! I would love to share! I was diagnosed with OCD and ADHD at age 7 after the school decided to run a bunch of test. When I was younger I struggled with contamination and organizational OCD. Getting older My OCD spread to just about all themes. I got so bad in 2021 I was suicidal for most of the year. I then decided to start ERP. I have been in therapy for years and had seen some small improvements not anything significant. With my current ERP therapist I have gotten to a place I didn't know was possible. I never knew I could be in control of my OCD and not have it run my life. It took some scary exposure but now as the intrusive thoughts come in I am not even shaken by them. I just see them as thoughts. Going through ERP has given me a distance and freedom from OCD. It takes hard work but it is work that is so worth it. As someone who was convinced I could never recover believe me when I say anything is possible. You got this! You can do hard things!