- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
Do you tell yourself that the scripts and recordings are part of therapy that it doesn't actually count?
- Date posted
- 6y
So sorry to say this b/c I know you're going through a tough time, but go back and do ERP with a QUALIFIED and EXPERIENCED therapist. You start with the lowest ranked fear and gradually work your way to the highest ranked fear. That way you will set yourself with success. Once you face your fear, and keep doing exposures over and over again, you will soon see results. Talk therapy isn't enough. I started with ERP, then CBT (ERP sessions were not covered by insurance), no meds. Still have rough spots, but my symptoms are more manageable.
- Date posted
- 6y
When people start ERP, many are scared of the treatment. Consequently, some tell themselves something like, “I’m going to imagine this now, but I know it’s not real, it’s just therapy,” to calm themselves down. That statement makes exposure impossible. You’ve just told yourself you’re safe! The exposure needs to feel real in the same ways it does when you’re freaking out about it in your day to day life. I’m sure you come across a million triggers every day that spike your intrusive thoughts and compulsions naturally. ERP needs to do the same, just on purpose. Perhaps your ERP triggers simply aren’t hard enough. I’d suggest picking a higher number on your hierarchy. Something that makes you fearful even knowing it’s “just therapy.” Id also try to steer clear of reassuring yourself that it is just therapy. It may be deliberate and scheduled, but it’s the same “risks” you face in real life that trigger you all the time.
- Date posted
- 6y
Pureolife is 100% right
- Date posted
- 6y
Thanks pureolife, I realize that when I plan to do an exposure it just doesn’t feel scary anymore because it was “planned” like having to think about erp not working for me is scary, but writing it on a script isn’t.
- Date posted
- 6y
Maybe scripts simply aren’t the best exposure type for you. There are plenty of other real-life exposures you can try instead.
- Date posted
- 6y
Maybe find an article about treatment resistant ocd/statistics?
- Date posted
- 6y
And read it, telling yourself that it may be true for you
- Date posted
- 6y
So your OCD is primarily about having OCD? Or is it focused on something else (harm, sexuality, contamination, etc.) Are your scripts about having OCD then and ERP not working? Just making sure.
- Date posted
- 6y
I do tell myself it’s part of therapy! And I am seeing an erp therapist, they said sometimes your ocd knows you’re trying to scare it. I’ve done a heirarchy and everything but I just don’t get scared.
- Date posted
- 6y
Yeah, I guess it’s hard to figure those out since all of my intrusive thoughts are mental
- Date posted
- 6y
What are you intrusive thoughts about?
- Date posted
- 6y
Being treatment resistant, not knowing if I’ll get better since erp doesn’t work, thinking that every time I have a new erp plan it won’t work bc I know exposures don’t usually scare me, etc
- Date posted
- 6y
Thanks I will do that! And yes currently it’s about having ocd, I also have harm ocd but not currently so I do scripts about being treatment resistant etc
- Date posted
- 6y
I like XTinas suggestion about articles about treatment resistance. Maybe you could also read others personal stories about how they feel OCD has stolen their lives from them and they’ll never really be better. Lots of people blog online about their illness, so finding someone who has really struggled may be triggering.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
Hi! I've been on my OCD healing journey for about half a year and I have seen a lot of success. I'm reaching out for advice, I am very willing to do exposures because I know the more I do them, the more I get better, but I struggle with the response prevention part. I don't know how to control my brain when it comes to facing the fears especially since most of my compulsions are mental. I can tell myself the typical things "I am okay with the uncertainty of this happening", etc. but its like my brain doesn't believe them. I've been stuck in this disconnect for a while and would love advice you have heard from a therapist or learned that has really help you.
- Date posted
- 14w
I read about ERP and have seen information about it on here. One of the goals is to say, "maybe I am this or that...ect." That terrified me. The thoughts and images that go in my head are disturbing and upsetting. I don't want to even think about saying, "maybe this or that." It's devasting to have these thoughts and question why you're having these thoughts. Doesn't the "maybe" make it worse? The one thing that helps me is that is to remind myself that these are just thoughts and I know I'm not a monster, even if I feel like one. Is ERP not for everyone? Has anyone else had a problem with the techniques used in this kind of therapy? I had cognitive therapy for years with an OCD specialist and that seemed to help a lot. Writing out the worst case scenarios would make me suicidal. Im having a difficult time not obsessing over the "maybe" after intrusive thoughts now. It doesn't make it better.
- Date posted
- 12w
So I've been working to address my OCD for about a month now. So far, I haven't been working on it with a therapist and have instead been trying to create my own exposure exercises. The primary obsession I'm working on is the fear that I'm somehow flawed or invalid on a fundamental level. The best way I can describe it it is that its similar to the feeling you get when you have germ OCD and you feel contaminated, except my whole existence and being feels contaminated, so to speak. I've identified a list of triggers, and a list of compulsions (pretty much all mental) that I've noticed myself performing. I started out by doing imaginal exposures and scripts where I'd write out triggering fictional scenarios and read them over and over, combined with mindfulness techniques to focus on my breath and bring myself back to the present when I noticed myself performing compulsions mentally. At first it worked to some extent, but eventually I started to feel like the stories I was writing about this obsession weren't triggering any anxiety anymore or a very low level. So I stopped reading them and focused solely on improving my ability to stay present and identifying compulsions as I perform them, and disengaging. Now, I'm at the point where it seems like my general anxiety levels throughout the day are lower, and the triggers I've identified are producing noticeably less anxiety. But that makes me wonder if somehow I'm just secretly doing mental compulsions without knowing it? Is only a month of rather disorganized and unstructured ERP enough to produce this much improvement? To avoid giving me re-assurance, I'd appreciate if you guys don't directly answer those questions, maybe just provide some possibilities or your own experiences so I can get a better idea of where I'm at. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!
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