I got diagnozed with OCD two years ago. Since my teenage years, I suffered from recurrent depressive episodes and also OCD related themes. I am currently doing ERP with NOCD but I feel I need to address my depressive moods as well. Is anyone doing ERP and CBT or talk therapy or anything else in parallel or has experience in treating both in parallel?
In my experience, OCD has a direct correlation with depressive episodes. When my world was smaller because of OCD, I felt more depressed. Once my life started opening back up because OCD was in check, I started enjoying life again. Do you feel depressed because of your OCD limiting your life?
I can't tell. I don't know if OCD makes me depressed or if depression comes first. My main compulsion is rumination which is part of both.
@Pluriel My main response prevention is trying to quit ruminating which is incredibly hard.
I have had the same experience. I was in a deep depression but since starting therapy I'm not really suffering from depression anymore. I'm sure that I was so depressed because my anxiety and panic attacks were so severe. I just kept saying to myself "trust the process". It took time and seemed impossible but it's working 💪🏻
I found my talk therapist first before starting with nocd. Talk therapy was useful to get my anxiety calmed down initially before even discussing erp. I have learned great skills from both therapists, and it's been helpful to still have an outlet with my talk therapist, while utilizing time with my nocd specialist for erp.
Maybe ask your therapist? I need Prozac (meds) and ERP to help with my OCD and depression
Yes, and I feel like I also need to reflect on things I experienced in the past. ERP is pretty much the opposite. Themes will not be discussed. So, where is the line between construcively reflecting on things to built different perspectives and seeking reassurance?
@Pluriel I did CBT before ERP and it made my OCD way worse and my depression. I guess it depends if you’re ruminating/obsessing about the past which is pretty common with OCD or it’s depression? I dunno what the line is but I’ve been dealing with thinking about the past a lot and being depressed and my ERP is kicking in and helping with both those things. My ocd wants to fix the past but that’s impossible, my depression wants to use it to beat me up.
@Honeyshark I feel the exactly the same. I keep ruminating about things/mistakes I did in the past and I am trying to find a solution for that which I guess is OCD. And this exhausting situation leeds to my depression. What has been helpful for you? How did you do ERP for that?
@Pluriel I had to work with my therapist to figure out what was feeding my rumination and then do ERP around it. Writing out my ruminations and then bringing them to my therapist helped us to identify which ones were actually fueling my OCD and depression.
I stop doing therapy once a week and my depression is getting really over whelming
Who has multiple diagnosis besides OCD here? And how did it affect your Therapy? I have OCD, Generalized Anxiety, and Depression. I would like to listen to how other people have dealt with their multiple diagnosis on this platform.
I still don't understand why my ERP is not affecting my mood much. I have been able to maintain my composure and let my thoughts pass by for the past week but I still feel like I just want to do nothing. Even when I force myself to do chores or engage in fun activities I just feel depressed. Am I just not disciplined enough in ERP yet or am I going to need something to help with the depression aspect of this? I'm curious what others who have been through this kind of feeling think.
I know that talk therapy is not beneficial for ocd, and is not meant to treat it. However, I was wondering if anyone has done erp for their ocd while also doing talk therapy for other areas of their life and how that has worked out?
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