- Date posted
- 1y
Never understood this
I see people use the following terms: "OCD episode ", " Spike", "Setback" And "relapse", yet I never understood the difference between the four terms, does anyone have an idea?
I see people use the following terms: "OCD episode ", " Spike", "Setback" And "relapse", yet I never understood the difference between the four terms, does anyone have an idea?
OCD episode sounds like it could be a short or long period of time where you are ruminating, experiencing intrusive thoughts, etc. Spike sounds like a sudden large increase. Maybe this could be someone who deals with a base-level of OCD and then notices sudden heightened intrusive thoughts. Setback sounds like someone who is on the path of managing their OCD, developing better strategies to avoid rumination, and then they experience a period of time where they feel they have reverted back to their former thought patterns they were fighting to manage. Relapse sounds similar to setback. Setback is a bit more optimistic because it describes a brief moment of weakening during a journey onwards, whilst relapse does not necessarily describe itself as part of a journey but more of a pattern. That being said, setback and relapse are synonyms of each other. I just think setback is used in the context of a journey more.
Thanks!! Do you think that a setback can happen more than once or twice during the journey?
@Moha🍃 Yes
I’ve best understood this as stressors in life. As stress goes up so does OCD response. A stressful event (like an exam or planning for a wedding) would cause a spike in OCD and if a long duration maybe an episode. Maybe it’s been a while with lower OCD tendencies and then a strong stressful event happens in your life. That would cause you to relapse into strong OCD or set you back. Think about stressful events and situations that cause OCD to fluctuate like a roller coaster.
Sometimes I notice my intrusive thoughts cause me to spiral and sometimes not. I've been practicing ERP for quite a while so it's a bit easier for me to not spiral. But I wonder why that happens. Does anyone else have it? Also I'm on medication idk if that plays a role.
I have read many people use the word theme in their posts. I think I know what that means as far as OCD goes but could someone please confirm me??? Thanks!
I think when people are saying OCD is egodystonic is really triggering me and I was just wondering if this has happened to anyone else? I’m going through a really bad relapse and right now I’m trying to figure out if my thoughts are truly egodystonic, like I how do I know I won’t act on them, how can I trust my emotions and everything. I feel really confused and I feel like I don’t know who I am anymore or how I carry on with life because it’s so long and I’m so unsure of everything that’s going on in my head. Like how do I know that this is OCD and true desires/urges. I’m so confused.
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