Success Stories?

I started ERP in october after not knowing i was struggling with OCD since i was 13 (I'm 22 now). I still struggle to force myself to practice exposures, but I cam tell that doing the work is helping the themes that used to cause me extreme fear only give me mild or no fear at all. keep practicing exposures and respond with prevention messages when you notice an OCD thought pop up. My faves are "maybe, maybe not" "oh yeah sure" or "yep that's me or yep that's possible but not probable". Give yourself grace also, you are stronger than you think you are.

Getting started is the biggest relief. Help is coming. Buy, we have to teach ourselves how to do it. It’s best to start small and work up to your bigger triggers. I found that working on the smaller stuff helps you not sweat the bigger stuff as much. Don’t worry about getting it right just yet. It’s important to be patient with yourself. We all still have good days and bad days. I judge myself too harshly when I have setbacks, but it’s part of the process. Progress isn’t linear. Just remember, thoughts are just thoughts, they aren’t real. Try to bring yourself back to the present moment as much as possible. What therapy has done for me is help me spot an OCD spiral easier. Also, try to let thoughts “Be” rather than letting them “go”. Or, trying to push them away sometimes makes them worse. You are also not alone. We can all help each other out. It’s scary in the beginning but I promise it gets easier. I’m glad you’re here.

Hey there! I have OCD since at least 5. Not even kidding. But was diagnosed at 24. I have had talked therapy and medication and was good for a decade. Until it hit me and I thought it set me so much back, that I might be misdiagnosed etc. And found NOCD. This place helped me be aware and notice a flare up coming. Im actually in a small flare up. Makes me sad and all of that not going to lie but I know what I have to do and my flare up hasn’t been so bad. Its just accepting that you have OCD can be hard but there is a way of living and managing it and feeling like yourself again.

Thank you so much. Your support means so much.

I am so proud of you for taking steps towards recovering, for asking for help and starting your journey. I also suspect I’ve had OCD my whole life. I was finally diagnosed at 31, and I’ve been in treatment for almost 2 years. I have pure ocd, just right ocd, and some other themes on occasion. Most of my compulsions are mental. I really, really struggled with emotional contamination fears, for over a decade. It latched on to one family member. When that person sat in my car, or came to my apartment, or used my bathroom, I freaked out. I was so afraid that I would turn into that person, that my home or car or bathroom were contaminated by their energy. I still don’t know why this is what my OCD focused on for so long. Prior to therapy, interacting with this family member caused me a lot of intense distress. Now, after a lot of ERP work, these fears are so much smaller. I can use the same bathroom as this person without panicking. I don’t care if they sit in my car, and I don’t worry about contamination. I don’t worry about their texts or photos being on my phone, when before I had to delete them to keep my phone clean. I can idly think about them, without worrying about their energy coming into my job (when I think about them at work). Overall, I can tell you 100% that ERP will help you live the life you want, to recover. I have so much less anxiety now. When it does pop up, as it will, I can manage it so much better. I learned how to sit with discomfort and uncertainty. I have bad flare ups from time to time, but that’s going to happen. But OCD controls me so, so much less than before. I am rediscovering myself and my values, and I am living a life I want, not the life my OCD wants. I hope you know that as you start your journey, as you go through really hard times, or lows, that you should remember why you started. You chose to recover, and that’s amazing. You will see the payoff as you keep working. You may not see or feel it right away. You may hate parts of the journey, because the work is honestly hard. But I promise, this is the way through and out towards recovery. Remember to show yourself grace when you struggle, to keep going even if you don’t want to, to be compassionate. It’s ok if you don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel now, because it will come to you. I also recommend joining NOCD support groups-they’re wonderful. I wish you the best in your journey. I’m rooting for you ❤️