- Date posted
- 2y ago
ERP?
can i do it on my own or do i need a therapist??
can i do it on my own or do i need a therapist??
right now im doing it on my own. i had a therapist , but he moved locations so now i don’t know one & im trying to find a new one . i’ll give a few tips ( that works for me ! ) on how to start exposure therapy. we’ll use this as an example: lets say someone is deathly afraid of spiders & they wanna start ERP 1st exposure would be for them to imagine spiders crawling all over their body 2nd exposure would be for them to watch & look at photos of spiders 3rd exposure would be for them to look at a spider in a cage 4th exposure would be for them to look at a spider outside of its cage but far away & last exposure would be to actually hold the spider then i suggest maybe making update videos or journal it , this way you can keep track of your progression. i also suggest after EVERY exposure you reward yourself . that can be simple things, for example, i LOVE coffee , so after every exposure i do i buy myself a dunkin donut’s coffee. good luck <3 i def recc a therapist tho just because exposure therapy can be A LOT to deal with, so having a therapist there to guide you is more helpful + if you want to take meds
@moonjoy *i dont have one
thank you really 🙏 i will try it.
i don’t think i can, i can’t stomach the possibility of these things, or maybe i can (because they might be true and deep down i know that) and just don’t want to and want to pretend it isn’t there. i can’t do ERP, i just want to pretend it isnt there and won’t happen to clarify, i know i have to do ERP, i know it’s necessary; i don’t need to be told this, this is just how i am feeling currently
Hi everyone. I'm feeling kinda scared because I have to wait a whole month to start ERP therapy, but I feel like I need to start doing exposures now because the longer I wait, the more anxiety I get. It just feels like the OCD monster is getting worse. One thing that helps me is asking one person about an obsession I have...asking a person that I trust, and then doing an exposure after I get the "ok" to do it. I feel like I do need 1 reassurance and then I can go ahead and do it. I know i'm not supposed to ask for reassurance at all, but i dont think you're supposed to do ERP on your own right? Does anyone have any suggestions for what to do while waiting for therapy? PS-the reason there is a wait is bc she's on vacation. After she's back we will meet regularly.
Can I hear some examples of specific parts of ERP that has helped you? I've been doing talk therapy for a few years and the major issue I have with it is that I already have analyzed all of my problems from every angle, so I'm kind of just sitting there yapping about it for an hour. I need solutions and things that make me feel better.
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