does anyone have any ERP / accepting uncertainty success stories? i’m at a point where i know i’ll never be feel long term happiness in life if i keep up this cycle. i’d just like some hope that there truly is a way out of this loop. and if so, how to exit it.
I totally understand this feeling❤️ By resisting compulsions and continuing about my day with the uncomfortable feeling of anxiety there, OCD slowly but surely started to unlatch itself from me. I experienced peace for about 3 years - with some ups and downs. Unfortunately, with a big life event, I got pulled back in by the ocd monster. I felt hopeless because, before this, I thought my ocd was pretty much “gone.” Luckily, I started to remember how resisting compulsions, accepting uncertainty, etc. were the only way out again. Another important piece for me was slowly changing my perspective on my worst fear and realizing how I was refusing to accept the possibility of that fear happening or even existing. Still working on it, but day by day, my hope has come back, I feel SO much better and clearer, and I believe again in the success of ERP/accepting uncertainty. I hope this helps!!
@Anonymous this is amazing, thank you. i love your optimism, it’s really inspiring. did you do it all alone?
@garden I’m so so glad it helps! At the moment, I’m seeing a therapist with NOCD so that’s been helpful bc she really gets how it works. Before that, I watched videos online mostly. Some of my fav channels on YouTube are OCD recovery, international ocd foundation, ocd and anxiety, & mark freeman (I’ll just say to try not to over do it bc it can become compulsive). do you have access to therapy?
@Anonymous that’s true about it becoming compulsive - these last few days i’ve sort of been compulsively trying to get better. which is counterproductive and ironic. i don’t have access to therapy but i really wish i did. it’s just so incredibly expensive finding an ocd specialist. i’ve had therapists in the past (and am currently seeing a counsellor in my university) but they just enable my unhealthy compulsive behaviours. i wish it was cheaper to find a specialist.
@garden I 1000% get the “compulsively trying to get better” - it’s hard. And I’m sorry you don’t have access to a specialist :( you seem to know when your counselor might be enabling your compulsive behaviors so you could try sending them resources about ocd so they can stop (i once had a non ocd therapist who was open to that) and then get more learnings on your own online maybe. I wish it was more accessible too, but good luck!❤️
I've been doing ERP for about two months, and I do see some progress. It may not seem as progress to other people, but it is for me! Every time I do a successful exposure, I write it down and put it in a jar. It's been a great motivator to see the jar slowly start filling up because I can actually see that I'm making progress!
I was diagnosed around 14 yrs old when ocd all came crashing in at once. ERP (along with meds) helped so much. I was completely controlled by an unending list of compulsions and rituals and obsessions. I was so exhausted and hopeless. After just a couple of months, I peeled back the layers of ocd's hold on me through therapy. Praise God! It was hard work and uncomfortable and sometimes scary. But it was life-changing. Once I experienced freedom, I never wanted to go back to that place again! Now I'm 43. for almost 30 years I have lived free of rituals. I went to college. Got married. Had 4 children. I'm now starting therapy because I see ways ocd is still present in my life (through thoughts, etc) and need to work on developing new ways to combat this. But the tools I learned all those years ago with ERP have truly helped me live with ocd all this time. I know therapy is expensive. They do offer some payment plans here. I would ask family for help to get the help you need. It may not take a ton, but it will help so much.
Check out my extensive responses to “ERP is not about feeling better” posting about three or four posts before this one.
I feel the same rn, just fed up of it
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success stories welcome, please i’m so hopeless about the future. i’m going to be seeing an ERP therapist soon, I have a hypnotherapist right now, and i’m starting medication today, but i’m so terrified none of it will work. i can’t keep living like this where every day is so impossibly hard. please, any encouragement or success stories very welcome
I’ve been having a hard time lately, and could really use some hope right now :”)
i am terrified to start ERP. fully terrified. i don’t know if i’m strong enough for it mentally or emotionally. the fact that it’s going to take a long time rather than a quick fix is also turning me away from it. i’m sure a lot of you have dealt with these same feelings, but i truly believe i am not strong enough for it. i would love to hear success stories if any of you have some to share. ❤️
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