Exposure

Hi there! for me, I’ll make the exposure script as detailed as possible. I add venues, even details of the person etc. and also the type of feelings + what made me feel that way I’m also doing an exposure therapy using a script (but on a different topic) and it’s hard, I get you. For my previous topic I’ll say it took a while before OCD thoughts felt less annoying… it took me about 1 month or even 3 months before I was like “eh, this thought doesn’t scare me now” So hang in there and practice exposures! I see it like going to the gym, I have to practice everyday to get good at it. Good luck!

Hey! thanks for the reply.. That's good to know. Glad you are conquering these themes Can you share a bit more about how you do exposures as scripts? I've been told to sit with the body and repeat the statement over and over. I've been told not to change the statement until it becomes boring

Yeah, I would do an imaginal where you play out exactly what the scenario is where you fall in love and get rejected. Flooding exposures (what your therapist has you doing) are nice, but I find that I really need to twist the knife on myself, like the other commenter said, get really specific, trying to outdo my OCD in terms of horrible predictions in order to make real progress. So, if this was my obsession, I would try to imagine the worst scenario my mind can conjure. I’m in love with this girl. We’re in a public setting and I tell her I love her. She laughs at me, telling me I’m a loser and she was only dating me out of pity and I’m so pathetic for catching feelings. She tells everyone at school or work or wherever you are in life and everybody is laughing at me and calling me a loser. My life is ruined and nobody wants to be my friend etc etc. Then when I get to the end of it, I ask myself, so what would I do in that situation? What would my life look like? How would I feel? Etc. The nastier you make the scenario, the more you realize you can tolerate a lot more than you thought. Would that totally suck? Absolutely. Would you still go on living your life? Yep. When it comes to OCD, my brain tells me that the outcome is too scary to even contemplate, but I say, no, “I want you to tell me in detail what the outcome is going to be.” And the more you embrace and accept your worst nightmare, eventually it stops being scary and just like an accepted part of your life. Yup, I’m a loser who catches feelings and everyone rejects me and I die alone. Gotcha. Anything else, OCD? Nope? Alright, cool. I say it casually cuz I’ve been practicing for years, but I t’s really hard and very exhausting emotionally so stagger your practices and give yourself much self-care and compassion during and outside of exposures. Good luck!

Thank you :) For the most part, yeah. It depends on the fear. Flooding exposures do help, but I find them more supplementary, like something I do in addition to other kinds. Imaginals like what I described are the ones I do the most, but In vivo exposures are the recommended way to do it because it’s not just in your mind, but something you’re physically doing too. So, if you’re afraid of getting contaminated, touch a public bus seat and lick your hand or if you’re afraid that you have magical thinking and you can control if your parents die, get pictures of them and actively wish death on them, if it’s pedophile OCD, go with your therapist to the park and pick out the kids you “want” to molest. The more you integrate it with actions, the more it sticks in your mind. Also, some ppl write them out and read the stories of the terrible things they are going to do, etc. The world of exposures is pretty much only limited by your imagination. I had a guy I was working with who was afraid his friend was going to make him gay, so I had him hang out with the friend and their partner. He said it was hard at first but it got easier the more he did it. It’s about not letting OCD stop you from living your life. And I’m not opposed to talking a bit but it depends how long and what you’re looking for. I’m not licensed yet but I’m trained in ERP and I’m currently getting my masters in clinical mental health counseling. So, I tend to charge for a full session of my services.