I think i'm starting to understand a little bit of how ERP works. I guess my question is i've tried exposure Is therapy before. I've had difficulty with it because my ocd is purely Obsessional. So I guess what i'm saying is I don't have a physical thing to expose myself too. It's all mental it's all images and thoughts. How does ERP work in these cases? Any advice would be super helpful. Thank you -b
I can see where it would be difficult to identify good ERP when it comes to mental compulsions. But it is very possible! Although what I often tell people is that it more involves "not doing" something than actually doing something- if that makes sense. Check out some of these helpful resources on this. https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/what-are-mental-compulsions-in-ocd https://youtu.be/UjAACwei_d4
I understand the struggle OCD being mostly things in the mind. I have found that in my mind I can present with 100% facts why that OCD thought is not true. Then OCD will say “Okay. But what if …” I then need to come up with 110% present evidence. Then when I do that OCD will want 120% evidence etc. etc. For me I have found by agreeing with OCD in the start and saying “Thanks OCD for letting me know how bad is a person I am. That is so helpful.” By saying that we are letting our brain know that that thought has no value. Is this difficult to do? Yes. Is it worth it? For sure.
I have pure ocd and it’s hard. I sometimes tell my husband my mind is a prison. But honestly you just focus on the now and staying present. All Ocd thoughts you just completely ignore and don’t give them any attention no matter how strong they are. When I give into mental compulsions I get headaches because my brain is so overworked.
I feel this so much. It does feel like a prison.
As soon as a thought pops up you are in an exposure. Use response prevention then. Do not engage with the thoughts. The more you react the more you tell your brain that thought is important. Slowly practice letting the thoughts be there and they will come and go until they realize you don’t need them anymore.
@joseymagosey I try!! Rumination is so hard I can’t stop it … how does one do erp for this
@Anonymous I understand the struggle with rumination. I don’t know if my situation would help but one thing I would ruminate on is “Did I say something that insulted someone?” So for me what I needed to do was instead of trying to reason with OCD I would just agree with it. If OCD “You just said something that insulted them” My ERP was to agree with what ICD was saying, Okay thanks.
Hi, Dr. Michael Greenberg offers this tip when it comes to rumination. It’s like solving a math problem. If someone tells you to not solve a math problem you wouldn’t say I can’t stop, you would just stop. An intrusive thought/feeling is the same, you don’t try to solve the problem, figure it out, make yourself fear better, etc Of course, this isn’t going to feel good, you will feel bad, feel like you making a big mistake, you’ll feel like it’s nagging in every part of your brain, but that’s ok. It’s ok to feel anxious, sad, irresponsible, because that’s how you get better. Hope this helps.
I hit “reply” too soon. By agreeing with what OCD was saying my brain gets tired of dealing with the “what if” Also the “okay thanks” should have been deleted.
@LowellT No problem! Mine is dealing w harm ocd and I try to leave the thoughts in my head and my brain won’t shut up. The urges feel so real. Idk how long it will stays in my head… 1 year? 10 year? I’m 24 and I have huge events and work … what do I do :(
@Anonymous I know the feeling. It isn’t like we can take a thought and “turn it off”. But I have found that the less I reason or argue against the thought it doesn’t stay as long. Difficult? Yep. I think it will be something I’ll have to work on practicing for awhile.
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