I don’t want to do my hierarchy exposure! Advice?

I have this same problem. Maybe try starting very small so that you’re at least doing some of it instead of none of it

I struggle with this all the time! Just tell yourself you are going to do an exposure for one minute. OCD is exposing you to distressing content basically every day anyway. Do it and then do something nice for yourself. I have a routine I do after where I smell a comforting scent and take deep breaths and sometimes I like to clean up my room a little bit. It makes me feel like I'm really taking care of myself. (By doing exposures you are taking care of yourself too!) Good luck. I'm about to do mine right now!!

I feel like this new exposure is unsafe and I don’t want to do it! I have been triggered with making noise with glass and thinking that I have broken/chipped the glass. This latest glass exposure was to break glass and put into a tin box and shake and turn the box over. Glass shards fell all over my kitchen counter and increased my anxiety when it was suggested by my therapist to not wash my hands until I prepared dinner later that night.

Ok will do! Drinking wine and and watching the football games with my husband and kids. Thanks for your input

I think @Erin P has a great point where the exposure just may have been too much. I'm sorry that I totally forgot about this thread! My therapist has not had me go beyond what a normal person would do yet but it makes sense from a therapy standpoint. I hope you were able to talk to your therapist about having a rough patch with compulsive behavior. Remember recovery from OCD has ups and downs and not to beat yourself up about it!!

Thank you! I actually changed therapists. My therapist really helped me but this latest exposure was way tooooo much for me to handle.

Me too! I’m doing so much better from where I started but still want/need to continue with therapy

Did you touch any glass with your hands, or did you just sweep it up?

There were glass shards on my hands and shards all over my kitchen counter where my kids eat! He suggested that I only wipe up the shards with a dry paper towel. I have learned so much from my therapist and have really become desensitized to the thought of broken glass but I feel that this is an extreme exposure. My therapist eventually would want me to shake this tin box with shards of glass over my head and shoulders and go on with my day with the uncertainty that I might have glass on me( the tin box is not airtight and spills glass shards when shaken).

Is there a “blueprint” for the various OCD subtypes or is the plan of care therapist dependent?

I get that my therapist is doing a great job of challenging me with my OCD trigger of breaking glass but I feel that this latest exposure is too unsafe. In fact I landslided back with compulsive behavior after our session. I completely deep cleaned my kitchen, which he told me absolutely not to do!