How long is an ERP therapy?

@Nica Yes people have less ocd and recover faster Then there is people like me with insane ocd

@scutodragon How do you do erp?

@Wolfram When I throw things in the trash I throw it and in the area between that and the wall (in the floor) I leave something like a small tiny rock to fill the empty space between the trash and wall However this time I left nothing and I won’t be going Back to that place but my ocd REALLY wants me to go back and do what I need to I want to be normal and move on but my ocd wants otherwise what to do?

@scutodragon That's all you do for erp? Just resist compulsions?

@Wolfram On top of this I have a test soon and I sort of have to do well and with ocd that’s not going to happen I wish this shitty disorder didn’t effect me What BOTHERS me is I hate to see people who don’t put in effects get the same result as me because they don’t have the brain I do

@Wolfram Yeah what am I missing

@Wolfram Also where I’m from there is very little therapy or mental health I could be the only one with ocd or a few so im on my own atm

@scutodragon What happens when you don't do it? What do you go through?

@Wolfram Good question but I’m a lot dumber lose my patience get angry and stop functioning feels like there is a rock in my brain that won’t stop until I do the compulsion Even when I end up doing it the ocd jumps to the next target and I WANT to do go to that location and do it but it’s legit 2 am my ocd also has zero patience so I can’t delay the compulsion I still have this feeling of EXTREME URGE what am I doing wrong

@scutodragon I don't think this approach works for you. There's a few ways and definitely a few dos and donts with it. Maybe look up videos on different approaches to erp?

@Wolfram I’ve given up already but my ocd is so not patient that I can’t sleep BECUASE of it if it was day I would do the compulsion so my brain can finally shut up

@Wolfram It’s been this way for as long as I can’t remember BUT for the first few years of my life I was like anyone without ocd and really happy once I turned 10 I woke up one day and got it this is like 2016-2017 in around 2018 somehow without therapy I managed to control ocd with a weird childlike version of ERP that I made up and after a few months it worked 2019 and 2020 lots of things happened one being Covid that allowed the ocd to come back fast forward to 2024 and I got in a lot of problems becuase of ocd made me lash out on people and I’m REALLY dumb from it does not help that’ there is no proper therapy here I would like to add that my child undeveloped brain responded to this way better than me right now Is there a way I can just shut my brain up

@scutodragon Fair enough, it is tough. You do what's good for you

@scutodragon Oh the things I would do to be normal for just 1 month

@Wolfram It’s not that I want do it anymore it’s just it’s 2 am atm and I can’t go out and do the compulsion I’ve given up but time has not moved

@scutodragon I don't have many memories of life before ocd either. I was 6 when it started. When you feel you have the strength and you're calm, look at different ways to tackle ocd. Some tips won't work for you but others will. I had to go through loads to get the education I have now to deal with it. Also I used to lash out badly too when I was trying to stop a compulsion when undiagnosed. It was embarrassingly bad 😅🤦‍♂️

@Wolfram Do you take meds or go to therapy I’m thinking to take meds nothing is working

@Wolfram Also I can’t understand normal people it leads to screaming and chaos

@scutodragon I never took meds. My education was my medication. I did erp for 3 months

@scutodragon Yep, I thought everyone else was being difficult for a very long time. It was me all along

@Wolfram Got any tips I need to break to work as this is a difficult time but it does not want to cooperate I don’t know how you did it I did erp for years and it worked but my ocd came back and moved on and obsessed over new things it didn’t before👋

@scutodragon OK so when I see people explain erp, they are too gentle for me. Imagine the erp you're doing like bringing water to a slow boil. Your aim is to get it to boil over the top. If you do it too slowly it's going to never feel like enough and the longer you'll suffer in that state and more likely to give in. My approach was to add salt to the pan and turn the heat to max and let that shit boil over until it stopped. That's what worked for me. It's incredibly triggering and it's going to cause you a lot of emotional pain but it will subside. All you need is the right method for you.

@Wolfram What method worked for you

@Wolfram How long did it take to get off ur case

@scutodragon OK so erp also works for phobias too. It was my Guinea pig for testing out how erp worked. So I went somewhere that would trigger my phobia with the attitude that I refused to live the life I had anymore. I started to feel anxious and stressed and begged for all the fear to bring it on. "come on, is that all you got? What're you waiting for, fcuking do something!" etc. I kept turning up the stress as much as I could and asked for it all and then some more. I felt like I was going to die and then after about 4-5 minutes the feelings started to fade away. Once I was calm I stayed for one minute longer and did some breathing exercises to calm myself and went away with tears of happiness. I did it another 2-3 times to make sure the phobia was gone. That was a big light bulb moment for me and though "erp works!" I then did erp on everything I could, even stuff not related to ocd. I'd do 3-10 exposures a day in between therapy sessions and always surprised the therapist. This is what worked for me. That and keeping my goal in mind. "fuck the stats, I'll prove them wrong. I will get better and nothing or no one will stop me. I will never let ocd take away anything from my life again"

@Wolfram That’s great but it’s been ages now and my ocd is getting worse instead of better

@Wolfram I think I’ll give meds a try

@scutodragon I had it for 27 years undiagnosed with multiple themes and multiple compulsions. I'm just a random ass guy. If I can beat it, you can too

You should not be triggering yourself on purpose because there's levels to triggers. Don't give up on yourself.

@ScaredyCat I have a test in days and I will fail is this erp does not work I will try to find meds asap and if those don’t work I’m done with my life it was not meant to be it’s a sailing ship that is to hard to fix

@scutodragon Please don't. I know it's easier said than done but take a breather. Talk with someone.

@ScaredyCat The test is in days and the erp is taking so long my future is dependent on this test and I’m competing with a lot of people we simply don’t have the money to repeat and to pay for the test And what BOTHERS me is that people that are doing little to no effort or work get the same scores as me BECUASE my ocd won’t let me focus

@scutodragon Erp is not easy but don't force yourself to do it. If you get an intrusive thoughts just reply with "maybe,maybe not" and focus on studying as good as you can. If you can get meds that's great,but worrying about it now will only make it worse.