I struggle to think of ERP messages to anchor myself to when trying to avoid mental compulsions. Anyone have any to recommend, especially in regards to ROCD fears and moral scrupulously?
Yes. I think it's the hardest ones to do. Most of my relationships issues are do I love my partner, are they going to leave and they can spiral from there. I have a thing w being honest to a fault and worrying I overstepped a boundary or did or said something wrong. Quite honestly I'm not sure if what I do will work foe you. When I have these thoughts I do the following in the order. I tell my partner " hey my ocd BOB is saying a ton of shit now about you. BOB is a pain in my ass. And my partner will respond yeah he is a jerk. That usually will stop me from getting into a 5 plus hour long discussion about our relationship and from asking for reassurance. If the thought pops up again, cause come on BOB is nothing but persistent I will journal. Then outlook I say maybe, I don't know, omg your annoying me I'm going to listen to an audiobook. But that's foe that thought. Keep them coming BOB. For the other stuff like lying, did I hurt someone's feelings etc I again tell my partner " hey, BOB is telling me I lied, hurt so and so etc" and my partner will say we'll who know, or maybe. I say yup, I'll just wait and see. That's what I do. Idk if it will help. And no matter what I do not go seek relationship advice from Dear Google or my friends. Noone can give me the answer I want because there's no answer so I just don't go there.
@Anonymous This was honestly really helpful, thank you! My OCDs name is Clarence. 😆
@danielle421 Well honey, Clarence is a jealous jerk and wants you all to himself or themselves. Bob and Clarence should get together and leave us alone.😏
I try and think of the things that bother me everyday and then purposely put myself into a spiral to habituate out of it
Hi guys! I’m new to the community and I’ve recently received my OCD diagnosis (tho I’ve known about it since childhood). I’ve been somewhat spiraling lately as I wait for my first ERP session (hooray!) I was just wondering if any of you guys have received ERP for existential OCD and if it was successful? My existential OCD compulsions are more so mental and have been affecting me in the sense of dream/memory flashbacks and giving me a sort of “uncanny” feeling about everything around me. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you❤️
What ERP or other techniques do you use to combat fear of cancelation? Especially curious about those with taboo thoughts, false memory ocd and event ocd based off of real events where the fear of cancellation may actually hold some validity. I once did my own ERP not under a therapist but just on my own I decided to create an anonymous account on Twitter and defend a friend who was receiving online criticism. I knew that this would be semi-controversial so I was expecting backlash and when I recieved troll replies it actually seemed to be a really helpful low-stakes exposure activity. Is this something that others have done? Low stakes online posts etc. that you know will recieve negative responses? I have had severe OCD as a kid as pretty much every subtype under the sun, and as an adult I pretty much have all the types under control except for this real event and false memory and taboo thought OCD. It seems like a different beast since it's somewhat realistic in the camcellation culture today, and it's confusing to address. Ive shut down almost all social accounts and it's keeping me from progressing in a career where I need to have an online presence :/
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) isn't always easy, but as one of the most effective treatments for OCD, it's worth it. If you've started ERP, what has been the biggest surprise you've experienced in learning to resist compulsions? If you haven't started ERP yet, what is holding you back from starting?
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