I know everyone is different, but I want to hear about your recovery journey. How long were you in ERP before you started to see results? I’m three weeks in and struggling!
6 years of intense therapy for all my mental illnesses—and I have 6 mental illnesses.
@Nica That’s amazing that you stuck through it all and persevered because I know that’s not easy. That’s inspiring! May I ask if you take any sort of medication? (You don’t have to say what you take, of course) but do you find it to be necessary? I’m personally debating on whether I want to go back on meds or not. I like to hear about people’s experience with meds alongside therapy.
@Tee10 No medication works on me.
I started therapy in June 2022 and just ended it in January 2023. It was a lot of back and forth between feeling better for a few days and then back to feeling downright awful. Each time it spaced out a little more though and I was able to conquer things I wasn’t able to before. Keep at it and don’t give up. Don’t beat yourself up if you give into your compulsion. This takes time and healing isn’t linear. It’s hard to say how long it will take for you or anyone to heal from this. I was struggling a little bit today, but I did my best to not give in. It’s hard and takes a lot of practice. You can do it. ❤️
I’m also 3 weeks in and struggling. My therapist said it is different for everyone and it’s about building the muscle memory of this new practice we are learning. I’m frustrated because I wish it was quicker but a lifetime of this ocd prior and those brain groves of how to handle the anxiety (compulsions) are deep and will take time to revert to a new , healthy behavior - we can do this , I feel you
@smyers02 Same! I’ve had OCD since I was 12 and just got diagnosed last year. I have a lifetime of telling my thoughts to “stop” that I have to overcome.
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?
Can someone please tell me at what point did you finally accept that it’s OCD? When did the ERP click for you? When did you just stop buying into the lies of OCD and finally let go? Like what does it take. It’s been 2 years of this for me and I’m in ERP currently and it’s just not clicking 😣 is it just me???
I’m starting NOCD. I had several years of cbt as a child (well over 20 years ago) and I see a trauma therapist. But now I’ll be seeking further help for OCD and just really scared. CBT wasn’t helpful for me. How has ERP been helpful for you? Do you feel like you’ll finally get your life back? I’m consumed by my obsessions 😢 Would love others feedback if ERP helped you ❤️
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