Hi friends! I’m facing a serious relapse after two wonderful months of nearly nothing. Ugh! What is the first thing you do? I’m ramping up the ERPs and therapy sessions. I’m so thankful for NOCD! I’m still taking my meds, so no change there. I keep telling myself that my thoughts are just thoughts and they might come true/ might not… I could really use some extra guidance. Many thanks.
personally i don’t have any suggestions but remember you are strong and you will get “back on track”, relapse is part of getting better unfortunately
Heya, I’ve just had my first relapse after a few months of being ‘comfortable’. It’s a bit of a shock to feel like I did when I first experienced OCD, but this time at least, I know what’s going on. Cracking on with exposures, doing what I know works for me (exercise, sleep) and understanding that my OCD is nothing new, I’m not the only one and that I don’t have to listen to it all help. Stay strong - you got this!! You’ve done it before and you’ll do it again 👍
@SJ85 Thank you, SJ! It’s kicking my butt right now but I have some weapons to fight back. You’re so right! Exercise, sleep, and keeping busy are all essential. I even find I have to go back to the basics again - “I’m ruminating right now and it’s not helpful”. I’m back to identifying it like 100 times a day. Ugh. My therapist says it’s early enough that we can pump the breaks and try to nip it but I gotta work. Thank you again my friend!
@Joey_867 You got this 👌 you know what you’ve got to do this time so it’s just a case of doing it now (I know that’s hard sometimes). Stay strong and good luck
hey there! i'm really sorry to hear about your relapse, but it's awesome that you had those two good months. relapses are super tough, and it's okay to feel frustrated. i totally get it, even though my struggle is more with pure o, the ups and downs are something i can relate to. i'm here to listen anytime you need to vent or just talk things through. 🌟 i wanted to share something with you that my therapist recommended and has been a game-changer for me. it's a free ai ocd therapy tool called "unstuck" (www.AIOCDtool.com). i think it could be really helpful for you because it's like having a mini-therapist in your pocket, especially since you're already doing erp and therapy. it's designed to help you when you're feeling overwhelmed by guiding you through steps to manage your ocd. you just type in what's bothering you and it'll help you navigate through it, kind of like what a trained ocd therapist would do in a session. i promise i'm not trying to sell you on an app - i usually hate that too - but it's genuinely helped me out and i hope it can offer you some support as well. if you have any questions or wanna know more about how it's worked for me, feel free to ask. hang in there, you're not alone in this. 💪
I suffered for a really long time (approx 2 years) with Real Event/False Memory ROCD. This led to a long period of chronic guilt, rumination, mental review and confessing. I sought help last year and finally realised I had OCD (hurrah) and wasn’t totally losing my mind. I felt as though I was (prior to diagnosis) when I told my therapist… “no matter what, I’m having the same thought over and over and every time I think I’ve found a way out of it, it comes back”. I felt really suicidal and could not see my way out of it for a while. I found a lot of help online with Instagram which led me to finding NOCD and a number of their therapists. I actually started NOCD therapy last year and was finally ridding myself of these horrible shackles and seeing that my life didn’t have to be defined by memories, mistakes and fears. However, unfortunately I fell ill and a number of life changing events happened (lost a beloved pet, was in and out of hospital, my stepdad became seriously ill and hospitalised) so I gave up therapy for the time being. Since, I’ve found myself distracted from my fears, I suppose I had a new theme to focus on (my health), I’d not realised it had become compulsive but I suppose it had. Anyway, it’s been a few months and I am still unwell but finding a way around it. I also have some great news in my life, I found out I’m pregnant and am beginning a new chapter in my life and am adapting to the changes and fears that come with that. Unfortunately 2 days ago I was floored by my old obsessions, back with vengeance with none of my old tools able to help again. I’m catching myself ruminating, I am noticing old patterns of mental review returning, here I am with that gut wrenching fear in my stomach constantly and words on my tongue ready to confess to things I may or may not have done (who knows!?). I feel so unprepared for this return of old fears… I thought I’d done well and almost become un-fearful again? I’m not sure where to go from here, I’ve enquired about some ERP again and am taking those steps. I’ve grabbed my old OCD books and am ready to remind myself to step out of those cycles. But I can’t help but feel devastated that the same old scary patterns have grabbed me again. Anyone have any top tips for coping in the meantime whilst arranging some ERP again 🪴
Hi all! I’m experiencing a bit of a relapse after thinking I had it all figured out! I think that I was actually avoiding a lot of things and not really putting that much pressure on myself to do ERP and accept uncertainty that I allowed what was a small ball of thoughts to turn into a life shattering obsession again. I’m feeling a little discouraged, and constantly questioning the meaning of existence again. This always happens when life gets hard and I lose my footing, I question the whole world and become dangerously obsessive and it makes me suicidal. I also feel like I forgot all my tools, or I’m scared that my ERP skills won’t work anymore because I thought I got rid of it so that means it’s back to stay. I just was wondering if I could have some encouragement and reminders on how to best approach this situation and stay positive. No reassurance pls 🙏🏼
I’ve been doing really well the past few months. I’ve been consistent with ERP therapy and other exercises to help manage my OCD. However, something triggered my OCD to come back in full force last week and while I know that the journey to recovery isn’t linear, and I know that this is something I will always have to work on, it’s been very disheartening and it feels like all the progress I’ve made has been for nothing. It’s exhausting and I’m struggling with intrusive thoughts that I will never get better again. Anyone else relate?
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