Just got my diagnosis

It depends on the therapy, how bad the OCD is, how much of an exposure you think you can handle, and other factors like that. It won’t be “easy” but that doesn’t mean it’ll be something horrible. I rather liked my ERP even when it was difficult cause at least I was on a road to improvement instead of suffering and getting worse

It is not either… It is worked on in degrees with your therapist. The whole point is that OCD is NOT about your content but about the compulsion. Therefore, OCD picks on what you value most (knowing you have an anxiety disorder) making you think you need to react to neutralize the thought…thru a compulsion. ERP helps you sit with anxiety so your body/mind learn your you don’t have to react…. Just noise, not a signal. Gradually, you can enjoy your values again.

I’ve been at it a couple weeks. So far… a LOT less distressing than life itself.

hey there, i totally get how daunting exposure therapy can sound, especially when you're already dealing with the daily challenges of ocd. 🌱 you might want to try "unstuck," it's this cool ai-powered therapy tool made just for ocd (just google "unstuck app for ocd" and it should pop up). my nocd therapist put me onto it and it's been a real game-changer for me these past few weeks – could be worth a shot for you too!

Me and my therapist started out by ranking my different obsessive themes from one to ten, one being the least distressing and ten being the most. Then we took baby steps by working with low ranked themes before moving on to higher ranked themes as my confidence grew. It is uncomfortable but I felt like it was uncomfortable in a good way because I was finally fighting back against a problem I didn’t think I could fight back against before. I think you will find as much hope as I did in this process.