Hi all, I’m newly diagnosed with OCD, and the path to treatment seems kinda overwhelming. For those taking meds, how do you know when they are working? What should I expect in ERP therapy (or other forms of CBT)? Thanks!
Hi there! Thank you for reaching out, and welcome! I understand feeling overwhelmed. There's a lot of unknown and uncertainty in the process. I myself tried some meds before therapy, and I unfortunately didn't see the best results, but I know they work great for a lot of people. From what I hear though, overall your mood can improve, and you may "feel better", as a whole. Sometimes meds can lessen intrusive thoughts as well, but unfortunately there is not currently a medication specifically aimed at OCD. ERP therapy is very different than general talk therapy - in the best way! It is exercise-based, versus talk-based. ERP is the most effective therapy for OCD. The goal is to trigger your OCD, and learn how to resist any compulsions while doing so - if successful with this over time, all OCD symptoms can decrease overall, and your usual triggers can become meaningless. To be honest, it is not easy, but living with OCD untreated is also not easy - that's how I've always looked at it. During therapy I had good days and bad days, and "okay" days in between. When doing ERP, you are essentially working to create a new pattern with your thoughts. OCD has created it's own toxic pattern, and you are working to break that. Because of that, it's easy to go back and forth between the old pattern and the newly created one when you're working through ERP. But as you continue to push for the new, it can begin to stick, and the old pattern can subside. Are you currently in therapy, or thinking of starting?
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