- Date posted
- 2y ago
Afraid of doing ERP
I am about to start my ERP journey and I am so afraid. I have HOCD and I feel of I do the exposures I will end up liking them and and it will turn me into something I know I’m not.
I am about to start my ERP journey and I am so afraid. I have HOCD and I feel of I do the exposures I will end up liking them and and it will turn me into something I know I’m not.
Hi, ERP is counterintuitive to what we normally do, but it works. The first, most important step to recovery is to make up you mind to use the tool. The second is to take the leap of faith that the tool your therapist is subscribing, ERP, will work. OCD cannot turn you into something you're not. It can only increase your fear and anxiety. You're doing the right thing by facing it down with ERP. Trust me, there is light at the end of the tunnel!!!
Yep, sure have! Just keep in mind the big picture, it's ALL OCD.
Maybe it will Maybe it won't, but this is the only way your going to get better. Keep ur head up I believe in you
Encouraging words!! As a Alumni, did you personally go through ERP, what OCD subset were you suffering and did it work (not 100% but did to help at all)???
Absolutely, and I still use the tool. I
I'm having technical trouble with this thread. Let's try it again...Absolutely, and I still use the tool! I’ve suffered from OCD all my life, in one manifestation or another, but in my generation (I’m in my late 60’s) no one knew much about it and certainly not how to successfully treat it. Only when I found NOCD and got a trained therapist who uses ERP did I begin to recover. In the past few years, I’ve been dealing with harm OCD, existential OCD, scrupulosity OCD, Pure OCD. I am now well into recovery, and am looking forward to my twilight years. One other thing I learned during recovery, kind of an epiphany, is that it’s ALL OCD. No matter what the flavor of the month is, it’s still OCD. I found this to be enlightening.
@Steven55! Hi! Thank you for your comment I really appreciate it❤️
You're welcome. Any time.
Did you ever deal with sexual oCD?
Would you please be a bit more specific? Do you mean same sex OCD, POCD or sex addiction?
I meant Same sex OCD
Oh yeah, that's a very common one. ERP will help you with it, no doubt.
Sorry for 20 questions, last one! again not for reassurance (cause I know what that does) but did you ever feel you couldn’t look at a guy or in the direction of any guy cause your mind was racing like it felt like you were attracted to every guy no matter who it was?
Thx man gonna keep doing my ERP work and keep pushing!
Great!
I just started working on my first exposure today with my therapist after screening and creating the lists for several weeks now. We did an exposure together and now I feel 100x worse than I did coming in. I won’t go too into detail but it involved looking at a VERY gory image that had to do with my fear of natural disasters. I called my mom and talked with her and she was shocked and wondered how in the hell that would help me! I agree. Did any of y’all feel this way when you first started or is this just not the right kind of therapy for me?
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
I did an erp and I was thinking over and over again “I want to be with girls I just don’t want others to find out” and then it felt like a moment of yeah that is what I want. It felt really real I can’t believe it’s not. I wasn’t anxious about it. It felt completely like me and even when I tried to deny it like it was a true realization and that I wanted it to be true. I can’t do this. What do I do!!! Erp suggestions?
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond