So, Im looking for therapy in my country. But there all like "3 moths". I have ocd for 18 years now. I have soooo many themes, how can I ever tackle that in just 3 months. I know the tricks but i cant do it alone when a new trigger comes up, i get overwhelmed and need a therapist. Is it weird that i feel like i need therapy for maybe my whole life?
Sounds like you're being hard on yourself and putting a lot of pressure to "get better" in a certain amount of time. We often think of our minds and bodies as separate but I think here it's helpful to think of them similarly. ERP is like training for your mind - just like lifting weights or doing cardio. Some people train for a bit and feel satisfied; other people like to continue their training to keep improving. There's no one right or wrong way. But what's for sure not helpful is to be mad at yourself for not reaching some idea of "perfection" within a certain time frame. It's natural to be dissatisfied from time to time but you have to remember that there isn't one correct destination, and therefore there /can't/ be one "right" timeline. One shouldn't feel hopeless if their progress takes days, months, or years to reveal itself. It's always a work in progress!
Yep. People will ask how long therapy should be, but it can seriously vary from person to person. What's important is the attempt to get better, not the time it takes.
You’ll probably need therapy for your whole life as most people do with mental illnesses but that doesn’t mean all the time. I am recovered from all my mental illnesses and I see my therapist once every quarter just as check ups/being proactive for any upcoming stressors I might have. It’s different when you are recovered vs. getting help and working on yourself.
Thank you! I feel like in the netherlands this is not a thing. Theyre always like: 20 sessions and go leave and they act like youre unable to recover if you relapse and need therapy again
@We'reGoodEnough Ahh, that’s a shame. Though that happens in the U.S too depending where you live. I think most places don’t do a good job in explaining what mental illnesses are and how to go about handling them during AND after recovery. I just happen to know a bit more because I’ve been in therapy since I was 4 years old for various issues and my mom’s a therapist, so I continually keep up with what’s happening in that sphere.
@Nica Somehow it seemed to me like NOCD expected me to be able to handle it all by myself after therapy, and it also seemed difficult/expensive to get back into therapy if I ever needed to. Maybe that was just bad/incorrect information given to me somewhere along the way, but that's how it felt. After talking to someone from NOCD again recently, they made it sound much simpler than the other person did before, but IDK... Trying to get the correct information is difficult.
@Anonymous Well, when you recover that’s where you should be able to handle most things and then you go back if there’s a big stressor and you relapse. My therapist happens to do all the things, so my check ins are all encompassing. Though most people will have 2 or more therapists since NOCD is just for OCD.
*3 months
First, it's not weird to feel that way. So all the therapy clinics give a 3 month time period? Hmm... NOCD also has something similar, they have a time period for a few months where you have more frequent sessions, then you get into a "stay better" stage where you have less frequent sessions over a few more months. I'm seeing a therapist with NOCD, and I'm far out of their normal sessions. I am seeing a therapist quite frequently, years later. You could just try going to therapy and seeing how you feel afterwards. Having therapy for 3 months is better than not having it, I think. Maybe they'll let you keep going after the 3 months? As far as how much time therapy SHOULD take, there is no "should". You should see a therapist as long as, and whenever, you need to. After you learn how to handle your OCD well, such as with ERP therapy, it is possible that you won't need therapy any more after that. It's also possible that you will. There is no correct amount of time you should see a therapist, just whatever is healthy for you. And there's no shame if you see a therapist frequently for your whole life -- even people with no mental illnesses see therapists throughout the course of their life. It's just a good idea to be ready to see a therapist whenever you need to, sort of like a doctor or dentist in that way. Don't hesitate to do what is right in the situation you find yourself in. :)
I know I need therapy. I have a flare up every three months that rocks my world— it’s been like this for four years. I’m just too scared. I’m too scared to have a therapist tell me I’m a lesbian. I’m too scared to do ERP and have it not work because it wasn’t actually OCD. I’m too scared for the ERP to work and me finally feel comfortable with being bisexual or a lesbian. I don’t want any of that to happen. I don’t understand how I can get over this and still be straight. I’m petrified at the thought of therapy, but what is going to happen to me?
I’m wondering if this has happened to anyone else… I’m 28 years old. I was diagnosed with OCD when I was very young and it took a while, but I overcame it. I haven’t had any compulsions in 20 years. I’ve had some horrible things happen in the past, but nothing brought back my OCD. The only thing I struggle with is overthinking and making decisions. Im about to take a sabbatical from my work for a year to travel because the last year of my life has been by far the happiest and most confident iv ever been. I went to see a therapist a couple weeks ago who was an OCD specialist, I just wanted some tips and tricks for decision-making while I’m on my trip. She warned me that my OCD might get worse before it gets better, but I thought that she just meant with decision-making and overthinking. They have this program set out that I didn’t really wanna do but she told me it works really well so I decided to try it. It’s two sessions a week and the first two sessions were sort of just talking about my old OCD and doing questionnaires. I really related to some of the questionnaire questions, and the therapist was actively telling me that I definitely had OCD the whole time which made me feel bad. After our second session, my OCD came back full swing like when I was a child. I cant stop thinking about doing compulsions every waking second. It’s been two weeks. I’ve been to her several times and nothing is helping, I’m resisting the urge to do compulsions as much as I can and I feel like I’m fighting for my life. Nothing is helping and I’m burning out. I wake up and cry everyday because of how uncomfortable and out of control I feel. I never thought this would happen and im so mad at myself for ruining my trip. I feel like I’ve ruined my life tbh and even if I do get better, I’m always gonna be bothered by the constant fear that even at the highest and most happy points in my life it could just come back at any second with no warning signs.. I thought I knew how to deal with it and had the tools, but nothing is working this time and its ruining my life. Today I asked about cancelling my trip altogether, and I might be going on medical leave. Has this happened to anybody and do you have any tips for me?
I feel like my therapist knows my issues well enough by now, why haven’t we started erp or why hasn’t she given me any strategies to help when I’m triggered? I’ve had 4 sessions. She just says we have to stick to the method that she works by, but if I don’t know when we will start the work that actually helps me, how can I feel confident in sticking with the therapy? I am so unsure. I keep asking her but she never gives me an answer. It’s not too much to ask to know when the help will actually start is it?! If the next couple of sessions go by and we still haven’t talked about strategies or erp, I will get so anxious because I can only afford 12 sessions 😔 I don’t know what to do. People are saying to be patient and go with it, but I can’t trust it. I would have expected to start some sort of erp plan. If in the next couple of sessions we haven’t started it, what should I do? (I get really triggered by phrases like red flags or that doesn’t sound good in the comments, just objective advice would be so appreciated 🙏🏻)
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