New to therapy-having trouble feeling optimistic

I have just started therapy for my ocd recently (only had a few sessions) however I am finding it makes me feel extremely sad. Overall my mood is just not as it was before. Feeling like I want to quit the therapy because to my understanding, I can never get rid of my ocd. I am just stuck with it forever? I know that with therapy they say it will get better but idk if it is worth the process to get there. I hate the feelings of being sad right now so I almost rather go back to dealing with my ocd on my own. I’m struggling to believe that this process will work for me and it can get better. I would love to hear from anyone who has had success from therapy for their ocd or any words of encouragement.

Username: FearAndLoathingFearAndLoathing

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

Therapy really helped me, but it does feel really bad at the beginning. Just because you’ve got it doesn’t mean it has control over your thoughts every minute of every day. I didn’t have major problems with it for about ten years, then it flared up again. Now I feel like I’m pretty close to finishing off this theme and looking forward to several more years of mostly silence from it. I feel very much like myself most of the time now. It is tempting to think you’re better off dealing with it by yourself, because there’s some satisfaction in performing a compulsion, but in my experience that has only made it worse. So has talk therapy, I think that really exacerbated my problem this time around. I probably wouldn’t have wasted over a year on this theme if I had gone to an OCD specialist first. I really encourage you to continue therapy. It sucks, but eventually you will feel like yourself again.

Username: Sky.679Sky.679

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

@FearAndLoathing Thank you so much for your response. That is a good point. I feel like most days it doesn’t control every second of my day. It is mostly when I am alone and not preoccupied with something to distract me. I feel like starting therapy has made me feel worse about the fact that i have ocd. I am obsessing over the fact that i have it, which I didn’t do before therapy. Also my thoughts are just very negative which sucks. I just keep thinking about how I am gonna have this forever.Your story gives me hope so thank you. That is awesome you didn’t have major problems for ten years. I also have a lot of other big life stressors at the moment and am thinking maybe this wasn’t the best time to take on therapy. I know there is probably never a “right time” but I feel I can’t take the additional sadness and emotions that therapy is giving me right now. Thank you for your encouragement.

Username: dee.dee.mdee.dee.m

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

The first time I heard this, it was very hard to comprehend. Because the thought of it never going away makes you feel like what’s the point. Let’s see that’s the point of doing therapy. That’s the point of ERP. You get to a point in your life where you’re able to just dismiss the thought and the feeling is not as elevated. I know that’s hard to understand right now because you’re in the mist of it. But there are days where I don’t even have it. And there are days that I do. But when I do, I’m able to dismiss it better that’s the point of ERP.

Username: Sky.679Sky.679

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

@dee.dee.m Thank you for responding. It is very hard for me to comprehend too. Especially with intrusive thoughts, which I struggle a lot with. I feel like because I started therapy and am acknowledging my ocd, that im becoming more aware of my ocd tendencies and it’s more frequent. I often find myself taking pity on myself. Feeling frustrated and upset that I have to deal with this and that it’s not fair. Not sure if you have experience that? And thank you, that makes me optimistic that there are days you don’t even have it.Thank you

Username: dee.dee.mdee.dee.m

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

@Anonymous.11 Yes! I have found myself many times comparing myself to other people that are “normal”. I’ll say silly things to myself like well they don’t have to deal with this. Of course they can go about their life like normal. But then I realized as time went on I found my own normal. But I completely understand what you mean! It does get better. Hold on to that hope.

Username: Sky.679Sky.679

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 39w ago

@dee.dee.m Yup all the time! I’m like must be nice not to have to fight with your own brain and just go about your day without these thoughts. Thank you very much again

Username: KKGM

Date posted: 1y ago

Encouragement

I’m looking for some encouragement. How many of you have actually gotten better with your OCD treatment? I feel like all I’m doing is switching from one theme to another and not actually going forward. The new themes are sometimes scarier because they’re “new” and there’s more uncertainty… at least with the old ones I knew how to respond and what that looked like for me.

Username: Twistedopher

Date posted: 1y ago

Feeling so hopeless.

I have been on therapy twice a week for a month now. I am apparently a hard case to think up exposures for. I have done 2 and they seemed so pointless. I need some encouragement bad but I'm not suppose to get reassurance from anyone. It's a very tough situation. My family needs me back so bad. My children, and wife are watching me suffer. It's been a year and I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel. I have been diagnosed with OCD for as long as I can remember, but it's all thoughts. Thoughts of never getting over this extreme anxiety and depression. So I never see stories that I can relate to when it comes to OCD.

Username: HannahsJourney

Date posted: 30w ago

Losing hope

Am I the only one who is losing hope for healing from ocd? I was always really hopeful about it and thought that I will recover soon but now I had ocd for so long (4 years) already and even though I noticed changes they were not the biggest. About half a year ago I had suicidal thoughts and I feel them coming back. I don’t know if that’s normal or I might just have depression? Anyways, I’m just so sick of my ocd if someone has advice for staying hopeful or if someone just have any quotes or something that makes them stay motivated that would be great! ❤️✨🌧️

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New to therapy-having trouble feeling optimistic

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