The good news is that we can tolerate these 'difficult' feelings- we may not enjoy them but they are manageable. I have never ever heard anyone say to me that they LOVE anxiety- but they can get through it and they don't need to 'do' anything to get rid of the feelings when they have OCD- the feelings will pass on their own. You can do this.
It definitely feels intolerable when harm ocd comes as urges!
I get that. It definitely isn't something many would want for sure. I would remember though- have you ever had the urge and actually acted on it? Probably not- so the urge then is to be treated just like an unwanted thought because in essence that is what it is. AND as difficult as it is to experience- it will go away on its own, without you performing a compulsion. Example- individual has urge to stab friend while in kitchen preparing lunch, compulsion is to avoid the knife, not make lunch- ERP would teach that you would not avoid- you would continue making lunch in spite of the urges and thoughts- eventually the feeling passes on it's own. It is hard and I don't want to downplay this. That is why working through ERP therapist can be so important. ERP works to provide long-term relief from anxiety and distress. By facing your fears head-on and allowing the feelings to be present, the person learns that what they expected to happen, often doesn’t. The idea is that we are learning to experience emotions or habituate to these feelings. Previously when someone has done compulsions to avoid feeling distressed they have not learned that they can “get used to” these difficult emotions and experience them. They have inadvertently chosen instant relief over long-term relief.The goal initially is to teach the individual to sit in discomfort for a period of time without engaging in rituals. This allows the individual to learn to tolerate feelings of uncertainty. The person learns to sit with the intrusive thoughts and in the possibility of them being true. When someone is experiencing OCD, the mere thought of not knowing something for sure can be terrifying. When the individual is able to see that they can actually tolerate the feelings of uncertainty, they feel more confident in their ability to handle the distress and the situations that trigger these feelings. They learn that by not engaging in compulsions they can obtain longer-term relief from anxiety.
@NOCD Therapist - Stacy Q. This was SUPER helpful. Thank you for taking the time.
@Catlove9 - I am glad! No problem. I truly want everyone to experience recovery and live the life that I know they can, even if OCD wants to hang out- we just don't have to engage with the OCD. We got this.
I love this but am still to master the tolerance aspect!
I disagree with this statement. “Individuals with ocd experience a high level of distress intolerance.” It’s that the distress is experienced differently more heighten the tolerance is appropriate for the level of distress. This statement makes it sound like individuals with ocd are weak. And some professionals who do not have ocd seem to misinterpret it further, and applying it more generally across all areas of life.
I have never viewed it that way personally but I appreciate your input for sure. I actually, personally think people with OCD are some of the strongest people I have ever met. The reason the distress is so high in those moments is because the threat 'feels' so real- I always say the 'feelings' are real but the danger is not. Hope that helps clarify.
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