A Call for Encouragement

For anyone who has recovered or found ERP helpful, can you please share your best tips pr words of encouragement for doing the hard work of leaning into uncertainty? So many of us on here, myself included, are really struggling to accept uncertainty and not seek or give ourselves reassurance. It's really fucking hard not to, especially when our OCD is demanding that we find answers, resolve our worries, and get rid of the anxiety. I feel like hearing even just a few words of encouragement from those who have done the hard work could be so helpful for those of us who want freedom from OCD but are so afraid to give up our compulsions.

Username: nate01nate01

Date posted: 1y ago

I’m not a therapist but I have ocd. I know it is really hard but there is hope. I went through erp and I now have a lot of control over my thoughts.

Username: Erin PErin P

Date posted: 1y ago

At the beginning of 2018 I was hospitalized due anorexia based on a fear of foods that would make me use the restroom more or have longer restroom trips due to my contamination fears. At that point I wasn’t able to use restrooms outside my house. I was in hell and had lost joy completely. Residential ERP treatment literally saved my life. I am a healthy weight and eat normally instead of having a diet of only 11 foods. I use public restrooms. Most of my subtypes are so much better. I have joy in my life. I still am struggling with my core contamination fear because of a backslide due to the pandemic but I am so much better than I was in 2018. I continue to use ERP to recovery from my core OCD backslide. I truly believe in it.

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 1y ago

@Erin P How long was recovery for you?

Username: Erin PErin P

Date posted: 1y ago

@All the colors ERP, DBT, CBT, support groups, family sessions, art and garden time, nutrition counseling (due to the food issues), psychiatry sessions for medications, and talk therapy.

Username: Anon.Anon.

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y ago

It can absolutely be a total painful struggle, especially in the beginning. That was my experience. I just was in such a hopeless state that I was willing to keep going through the ERP process. For me, it’s not like flipping a switch for embracing uncertainty. It’s a practice, that just like anything, takes time to get better at. My journey had a ton of ups and downs, backslides, frustrations, plenty of theme switches, but the overall trajectory is up. Now it’s just a matter of how willing I am to not give into compulsions in daily life because I’ve learned the tools. My therapist had my write down a bunch of questions and hang them in my apartment where I would see them all the time. It helped me to stay motivated. They are as follows: Title: “How Free do I want to be” 1. Am I doing ERP at least once daily? 2. Am I being consistent in resisting compulsions? 3. Am I getting BETTER at embracing uncertainty? 4. Am I becoming more willing to tolerate discomfort? 5. Am I trying to vary ERP exercises to get maximum benefit from them? It’s still up there today. I hope you keep on the path of recovery. Feel free to ask me questions. I hope this helps in some small way!

Username: Anon.Anon.

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y ago

@All the colors It was absolutely terrible for awhile. I was using that “New Skin” super glue for my hands because they were splitting all over. Excessive eye washing, body washing, etc. What my therapist had me do in the beginning was just stuff like rub a dollar bill all over my face. Go to the elevator touch all the buttons and rub my eyes. Stuff like that without giving into compulsions. Like going out of my way to trigger myself. That is where a lot more mental relief comes for me, it’s just sitting through the initial uncomfortable feelings

Username: Erin PErin P

Date posted: 1y ago

Residential was 3 months then PHP and IOP for a few months.

Username: KKGM

Date posted: 1y ago

Encouragement

I’m looking for some encouragement. How many of you have actually gotten better with your OCD treatment? I feel like all I’m doing is switching from one theme to another and not actually going forward. The new themes are sometimes scarier because they’re “new” and there’s more uncertainty… at least with the old ones I knew how to respond and what that looked like for me.

Username: Anonymous

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y ago

encouragement

Hey! I’m really in need of some encouragement right now, can anyone tell me their experience with ROCD and their recovery? I’ve felt very hopeless the last few days and it would be nice to hear some recovery stories and uplifting words.

Relationship OCD

Username: Ambs K

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 1y ago

Keeping Yourself Encouraged

Hello all, I’ve been dealing with OCD for years, and doing ERP therapy for several months to a year, and trying to really dive into doing exposures. I’ve done better with some triggers, and have improved since I first discovered I had OCD, but I still have the almost constant undercurrent of anxiety and I can get so tired. I don’t want to fall into feeling like this is going to last forever, but I also want to be realistic about the chronic nature of OCD. Do you have any tips for how you keep yourself encouraged even after what seems like a long recovery journey?

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A Call for Encouragement

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