Tried erp a week ago and failed within a week, I struggle with totally commuting the erp with whatever thoughts are in my mind at the time , It feels like I’m stuck at the bunjee jump board and can’t trust and just jump if that makes sense , how do people Just do erp
It is possible that you jumped onto something that was too distressing for you and so you might need to break these down into smaller ones and gradually build up your confidence and skills. It takes time and lots of practice. Your erp can also be bite sized safety behaviours where you wean off them if it helps. Ruminating is a hard one to control though.
I agree with the previous post about breaking an exposure down into smaller steps. That's what helped me in the past and is helping me again now as OCD has come back to visit. Example: I used to have an elaborate ritual for taking my medicine, which involved many steps of handwashing. It took me 30 minutes to complete what should have been a simple task. I started by just reducing the number of seconds of each handwashing, then cut out certain steps of the routine each week, etc. Over a year later, I can be take my medicine in under a minute.
Can you give some more detailed examples of how you handled it and where/why you stopped? Maybe can give some tips
@🚀 Basically I get thoughts in my head and if I don’t think them trough I feel like something bad will happen , so i started off with the thoughts being there and I didn’t do the compulsion of thinking then through but the stress levels were to high so I have in and did the obsessions
@Floki7 Try just not thinking them through for a few days to begin with and maybe see how you feel then? Sometimes it takes a few days for anxiety/guilt to go down unfortunately. Just tell yourself you’ll commit for a few days and then re-assess. Thinking about these things constantly trains your brain that they’re important and to automatically keep thinking about them :/
It’s best to start ERP with a therapist if you are trying it on your own
I feel the exact same way! I have worked on “ lower level” ERP successfully, but I can’t seem to get past the fear of the really anxious tasks! I’ve sort of plateaued. My therapist will need to refer me somewhere else if I can’t/won’t do the work. I’ve done inpatient many years ago and struggled to acclimate back home…where my high intensity triggers are! This is just so scary! I like your bungee analogy…so accurate!
Anyone else find ERP incredibly difficult? My OCD does not want any part of it. I feel helpless because I keep giving into compulsions and a small part of me knows that the only way out is to stop compulsions. My OCD says otherwise, however. It has even gone so far to convince me that I actually cannot ever accept uncertainty and I find it so hard to not believe it. I know I will only ever find out if I stop compulsions but it is so damn hard and now OCD is getting in the way of my school work. One week I'm highly motivated and ready to fight, then the next week I'm so low and cannot stop ruminating. Then when I want to try again I know I'll just give in again. Much love for anyone suffering from this nonsense.
So I’m starting therapy this week but I’ve been trying to use ERP myself, my main compulsion is rumination which I wasn’t even aware was a compulsion. I’m trying to do ERP but when I focus on observing the thought it goes, I dunno if I’m focusing too much on actually how to follow ERP or is this normal? I feel like I might be subconsciously blocking thoughts because I know how bad it is when I go down the rabbit hole, but then I also worry that the anxiety goes too quickly and that I’m finding it too easy to ignore the thought?
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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