- Date posted
- 2y
ERP exercises for Partner focused OCD?
Anyone have any suggestions for ERP exercises for Partner focused ROCD?
Anyone have any suggestions for ERP exercises for Partner focused ROCD?
So I would suggest writing down your worst fears on paper, and read them without doing a compulsion and keep feeling the anxiety, another one would get a picture of your boyfriend and just look at it without doing any compulsions, when you feel the anxiety build say to yourself something like ,come on ocd give me what you got! And feel it as much as you can the more you do this the anxiety will go down
I'm having the same with my girlfriend, like sometimes she looks attractive and sometimes she doesn't, it's so confusing!
So please do not make my mistake! I allowed this to cause me to end a relationship with a wonderful woman. I thought something was wrong ! She was so sweet and caring and loving ! I did eventually meet someone else and was totally physically attracted. I ended up marrying her and she turned out to be a total psychopath. I am addicted to her and she has ruined my life! I married her after only three months of dating! Please listen to me, do not let looks, or anything else get in the way. If you have been together a few years and feel the time is right, do not let them get away ! Go for it !! I let partner focused OCD get between me an a wonderful woman. We met for drinks just as friends once I began divorcing my abuser! She told me that she had been in love with me, but I am not the same man she knew three years ago!! I should never have let her go! Oh and on a side note ! She is even more beautiful then the woman I chose over her that has totally ruined me !!
I think what I'm chasing is that infatuation/ euphoria feeling. Like puppy love. At 37, I know that this isn't what true love is but somehow my mind keeps telling me I need it to be happy and to get married. Meanwhile, everything else that I have wanted in a life partner is there.
Following, I struggle with this too
What are your triggers?
Talking about taking the next step in our relationship (getting engaged). I'm triggered because I wonder if I'm fully attracted to my boyfriend and if I'm really in love because I don't feel it. We have been together 1.5 years.
I struggle with this all the time. Ive been dating for 3 years and always have the urge to be single even though she is an amazing gf
We have been long distance for a year also
I'm LD with my bf and it's been 1.5 years. I worry that I won't be able confidently commit to getting engaged/marriage. I've always dreamed of getting married and having children. Now I'm terrified.
Specifically how can my fiance best support me without offering reassurance? I'm trying to encourage myself to grow and keep trying ERP, but I'm not sure how I can include my partner in a healthy way. I plan on talking to my therapist about it soon, but I wanted to hear thoughts from people who have been dealing with it themselves.
Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love, however if you are living with Relationship OCD (ROCD) this can be a very triggering day. Relationship OCD is essentially, the fear of being in the wrong relationship, not truly loving your partner, or not being loved by your partner. This makes you doubt the true nature of your relationship and makes you believe that your entire relationship is based on lies. It can make you feel like a bad person and not worthy of love. ROCD will make you believe that you need to leave the relationship just to find some peace. When we think about ROCD we often think that this only applies to romantic relationships, however ROCD can impact friendships and family relationships as well. ROCD will attack whatever relationship is most important to you. As an ERP therapist some of the most common obsessions that I have seen include “Is my partner ‘The One’”? “Maybe I am meant to be with someone else”. “What if my partner cheats on me or worse I cheat on him/her”? “I find X attractive. Should I break up with my partner and be with X”? “Do I even love my partner? What if they don’t love me?” This list could go on and on. The basis of all of these intrusive thoughts is fear and doubt. The compulsions associated with ROCD are vast. The most common include checking feelings to make sure you really love your partner, avoidance behaviors, reassurance seeking behaviors both from your partner and from others and ruminating on the relationship in the hopes of figuring out if this is the “right” relationship for you. ROCD, as in most theses in OCD, wants 100% uncertainty that this relationship will work out with no conflict or compromise. The problem is this is unrealistic. All relationships will have some level of conflict and compromise in them. There is no “perfect relationship”. Most of us have grown up with fairy tales where one true love will come and sweep up off our feet. Life and relationships can be messy and complicated, but they are worth it and are a key aspect of what makes us human. The fact is ROCD makes you doubt everything and will take the joy, excitement and contentment out of the relationship. The good news is that treatment is available, and it is possible to have a long, happy, fulfilling relationship despite ROCD fears. It does take time, perseverance and patience. Treatment using Exposure Response Prevention has been proven to lessen intrusive thoughts. You will learn to manage your expectations of the relationships while leaning into your fears and learning to accept the uncomfortable feelings. By doing this, you can bring joy and contentment back into you life and your relationships. I'd love to hear about how ROCD is showing up for you. Share your experiences in the comments below or ask your questions about ROCD and I will respond to them.
I feel like my Rocd has become more sophisticated. It’s made me feel as if my healthy loving boyfriend is this terrible person. Or I’ll be thinking to myself like “I love him”, and in middle thought I get “no you don’t”. It’s convinced me that our values and beliefs are just TOO different (we’ve only disagreed on one thing in our relationship, but we talk it out). It’s like my ocd is clinging on to every reason why I should break up, like I don’t want this anymore, even tho I do! It’s frustrating. And the idea of doing erp terrifies me. Because I’m afraid if I do erp statements, that I’ll agree with them. Can someone give insight
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