I’m scared to do exposure therapy and not ready at all for it even though I’ve had OCD for so long. I’m scared I’ll be forced to touch things I don’t want to due to OCD or be forced to express my disgusting thoughts out loud. Is it okay that I feel scared? Should I be? Advice?
Don't build it up into some insurmountable obstacle in your mind before you get there. They are therapists and they are there to help. However a certain amount of courage will be needed at times. Remember, courage/bravery is not the lack of fear, it is feeling the fear and doing what needs to be done despite the fear. Be brave. You can do this!
One way or another you have to fight! Fighting is scary. But it will get easier!
Of course it’s ok to feel scared. ERP is literally exposing you to the stuff you’re scared of. However, your therapist should have a hierarchy for you where you start with the less scary stuff and work your way up
You probably spend a lot of your time either afraid, anxious or doing compulsions as it is. With ERP you start with the least scary stuff and then work your way up. Don’t worry about what you may or may not need to do after you’ve been in treatment for awhile. You can start slow in terms of details about your thoughts - just know that NOCD and other places that specialize in OCD have therapist have heard many disgusting and horrific thoughts and know they are coming from OCD not you - they will help not judge. Of course you are scared - OCD sucks, confronting fears sucks. But it’s better to do ERP then keep living with OCD that will only get worse. Go for it. You can do it.
I am wanting to go to therapy to hopefully lower my OCD symptoms but I am terrified to tell anyone else, like a therapist, about my intrusive thoughts. Has anyone else had this experience and if so how did you get over it?
Hi everyone. I'm feeling kinda scared because I have to wait a whole month to start ERP therapy, but I feel like I need to start doing exposures now because the longer I wait, the more anxiety I get. It just feels like the OCD monster is getting worse. One thing that helps me is asking one person about an obsession I have...asking a person that I trust, and then doing an exposure after I get the "ok" to do it. I feel like I do need 1 reassurance and then I can go ahead and do it. I know i'm not supposed to ask for reassurance at all, but i dont think you're supposed to do ERP on your own right? Does anyone have any suggestions for what to do while waiting for therapy? PS-the reason there is a wait is bc she's on vacation. After she's back we will meet regularly.
So you got to ask me anything… Now I’d like to ask you something! I’ve heard from Members that they were so scared coming to their first ERP session. They were terrified that I would think they were crazy, that I would tell them their worst fears were true. That I would confirm they are some form of a terrible person or have them hauled off to prison for their thoughts. I’ve also had Members share how they’re very scared to begin ERP treatment because they’ve researched enough to know it means facing the fear, without the compulsions that have kept them feeling safe (but not really safe) this entire time. They struggled to see how they could be capable of doing this, while simultaneously acknowledging that they did not want to live like this anymore. If you have had your first session, what were your thoughts before? Did you have any hesitations or fears going into it? How did it turn out? If you haven’t yet begun to work with an ERP specialist, what is holding you back?
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