formyfuture
- Date posted
- 1y
erp by yourself
has anybody been working on doing ERP therapy alone without a therapist? has it worked for you? i’m attempting to do it alone but it is soooo hard. any tips would be wonderful as well :)
Mr. Solo DoloMr. Solo Dolo
- Date posted
- 1y
Yeah I have to do it alone in between sessions, it’s gets easier.
totallyanxiousalwaystotallyanxio...
- Date posted
- 1y
For the past year since I’ve learned about ERP I’ve been doing it on my own. Too scared to ask to see a therapist or get a diagnosis just yet. Some tips I can absolutely give are to keep going! There are some self help OCD books you can buy. I don’t have any but there are some :) just push yourself and remember after the bad there is always good. ERP doesn’t immediately make it better, it takes time and a want to keep going. Do not fall into the trap of “oh god I’m not worried about this!” That’s OCD about OCD. Keep ERP’ing it and don’t avoid things out of fears. I believe in you
JPT1988JPT1988
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
I do one session every morning. Part of my routine. Def gets easier. :)
VGHVGH
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Yes, I have had therapy, but I still work on ERP everyday. LOL, it is really just my life. There are things that trigger me (the exposure) and then I practice the response prevention. I don't ruminate, check, reassurance seek etc. I allow time to pass, I am willing to be uncertain. So, at this point, it is not a specific time set aside for an ERP exercise, but, for example, I know later today I have to pick up a prescription from the pharmacy. There was a time where I would ruminate about this, and then after I picked it up there would be a lot of checking compulsions. So right now, I'm not ruminating, I'm doing things I value, I hopped on here to see if I could contribute anything, I am heading to the gym, etc. I allow and am willing to have uncertainty. A really great book that helped me was "Needing to Know for Sure" by Seif and Winston https://a.co/d/8Hi7oHs Hope this helps! Take care, and it's great that you are working on ERP!
CatinaboxCatinabox
- Date posted
- 1y
Ye, I don’t have a therapist, or even a proper diagnoses yet, and so I’ve been trying to do ERP on my own but it’s so so hard
formyfutureformyfuture
- Date posted
- 1y
@Catinabox i believe in you, we can do this together. you have the potential to be so great and although i don’t know you, i know you are a kind and loving person who has good intentions. you are not your thoughts and i believe in you.
CatinaboxCatinabox
- Date posted
- 1y
@formyfuture Thanks, that means a lot
blazedblazed
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
At first I started doing it by myself, which did help and kept me afloat for a while. Now that I’ve been doing it with a therapist, I’ve made progress a lot faster - but mostly bc I had a specific structure to follow. Outside of my sessions I did ERP 5+ times a day for about 4 weeks which reduced my symptoms significantly. Then I decreased it to 1-3 times per day. Don’t go as hard as I did bc it can get extremely overwhelming, but the most important thing is to stay consistent. So doing it just once a day for 10 minutes can make all the difference. Don’t be discouraged if you have some setbacks along the way, it’s totally normal and you’ll gain more confidence in your abilities to get through it. Also check out the Mindfulness Workbook for OCD by Jon Hershfield, it gave me a new perspective and hopefully you’ll find it insightful too! You got this, keep going!
Related posts
Anonymous
- Date posted
- 20w
What is ERP?
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.
Anonymous1990
- Date posted
- 20w
ERP
I’m starting NOCD. I had several years of cbt as a child (well over 20 years ago) and I see a trauma therapist. But now I’ll be seeking further help for OCD and just really scared. CBT wasn’t helpful for me. How has ERP been helpful for you? Do you feel like you’ll finally get your life back? I’m consumed by my obsessions 😢 Would love others feedback if ERP helped you ❤️
Gmoki
- Date posted
- 7w
How to be alone with your thoughts besides ERP?
Hi - just for some context, I have OCD and ADHD. I hate bringing this up, but with these diagnoses, when intertwined, there is ALWAYS a thought. I never stop thinking. This is really hard, especially because I feel like I always need to be talking to someone. Whether it’s my friends or family, talking to people brings me down to earth from certain kinds of thought spirals. However, when I’m alone it is the hardest. When my friends don’t reply I have this compulsion to text again or I need to constantly check my notifications so that I have none left to check. But then to them or new people I talk to, this behavior probably comes across as overwhelming or too much. I’m trying to control it and use erp, but also, I have my moments where I’m just vunerable and give into the compulsion. It’s genuinely so embarassing and maybe not as big a deal as I’m making it out to be but, how do I manage? And how do I relax?
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