- Date posted
- 1y
This is my OCD and I choose not to engage with it at this time. Also that OCD is a liar, a bully, a leech and a thief! And I can handle each one!
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
You can TOTALLY handle all of those things. You're stronger than OCD - thank you for sharing this encouragement!!
- Date posted
- 1y
The concept of “ride the wave” and face my feelings and embrace uncertainty. “Live uncertain.”
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
“Live uncertain.” >>> such a great reminder.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
That I can handle feeling anxious, that the anxiety might never go away- but I can still choose for myself and live my life regardless.
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
Knowing you can handle anxiety makes OCD lose its power!!! Keep it up!!
- Date posted
- 1y
Learned the tool of treating my unwanted thoughts like junk mail. It's like when you scroll through your emails and see a message saying you've won a free iPhone. You know it's not true, so you acknowledge it, mark it as junk, and move on without letting it affect you. Then you look back and find it kind of funny how ridiculous it sounds because of how untrue the “junk mail” (ocd thoughts) are. This approach has been a game changer for me!
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
Love this!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
The realization that there is no “solution” and life’s questions will always remain unanswerable. Life = ambiguity
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
Uncertainty is HUGE in OCD recovery!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Definitely the fact that ERP pays off! It can be so so hard, but when your OCD is bothering you, do ERP, and get ahead of its games! You’ve got this!!
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
It definitely takes time and hard work, but we agree that ERP can totally pay off!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Sassing my OCD right back - no, I don’t have to spend my precious time engaging these thoughts. They are not protecting me. I can cope. OCD is a liar and a trickster.
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
"They are not protecting me" YES
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
@Brenna - NOCD Team Member It’s still very hard to remind myself that my anxiety and rumination isn’t protecting or preparing me. It feels so engrained - but I just have to keep listening to my own voice, not OCD’s!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Let the thoughts be there. Resist engaging in them. Accept uncertainty.
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
Keep it up!!!
- Date posted
- 1y
@Anonymous66 Engaging with the thoughts is one of my main compulsions and not engaging with them feels almost impossible
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
don’t get discouraged if it feels hard right now. Our brains are used to a certain way of responding, so when we challenge our usual response, it takes time to retrain our brain. What we once saw as a threat, we are now showing our brain it actually isn’t. And that takes time. Show plenty of compassion and love towards yourself in this time. But also know that you can do hard things and see changes when you stick to it. Like working out a muscle at the gym, hard at first but over time you see muscle definition.
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
Yesss, this is awesome!
- Date posted
- 1y
I needed that! I have a hard time being kind to myself, thinking I should "be better" at resisting compulsions. This is hard work.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
To approach my fears - never run from them
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
Yes!!!
- Date posted
- 1y
@dirholly Yes I did the same thing!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Learning to distinguish the “ocd voice” from my own inner monologue
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Be scared and do the thing anyway!
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
Yes, live the life you want to live!!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Leaning into the fearful thoughts and feelings. Don’t try to make them go away, allow them to be there and even hoping for those negative thoughts and feelings to arise so I can practice feeling anxious without pushing it away. This is so important for OCD management. It’s probably the hardest thing I have ever done but the most effective by far.
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
100% agree with you on this. Trying to push away thoughts never works in the long run!
- Date posted
- 1y
Never stop doing exposures 🙌
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
Great reminder!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Do the response prevention and do it often. Never slack on the response prevention.
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
Love this!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
ERP helped me rediscover my strength-to tolerate uncertainty, work through my fears, and live a life according to my values.
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
YES!! Great encouragement!!
- Date posted
- 1y
I did ERP therapy at home not knowing even what it was. I deal with harm ocd, existential ocd, suicidal ocd and I brought myself to get a blade and stick it to my arm and showed myself I didn’t want to harm myself and now I am no longer scared of these thoughts !!! I’m 16 years old.
- Date posted
- 1y
@ysabelleveloz1 that takes a huge amount of bravery 😭 im proud of you 💗
- Date posted
- 1y
Sit through your uncertainty. It’s part of life and you’ll always need to. ERP is about handling the uncertainty instead of fixing/acting. I think ERP lets us stop acting on our impulses and compulsions so that we can act on our goals instead.
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
LOVE! "ERP is about handling the uncertainty instead of fixing/acting." This is great!
- Date posted
- 1y
That thoughts themselves can be compulsions, and that I fit the pattern of someone with OCD even though I don’t act these out physically.
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
Spreading awareness!!! This is great.
- Date posted
- 1y
@Anonymous Yes!
- Date posted
- 1y
My OCD tries to protect me from being hurt emotionally by making sure I don’t reach out for help and making sure I feel insecure or unworthy. It’s hard to remember that these aren’t good either, I guess because OCD feels so reliable.
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
OCD's a liar. You're stronger than it!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Thoughts are not facts!
- Date posted
- 1y
Being able to catch negative/intrusive thoughts and work through them by checking their cognitive distortions
- Date posted
- 1y
I have my first ERP appointment tomorrow and im scared 😭😭
- User type
- Staff
- Date posted
- 1y
There's so much hope for recovery!
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
@weregonnabeokay Rooting for you!!
- Date posted
- 1y
@weregonnabeokay Same
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 1y
Honestly just learning more about what OCD really is! Coming to terms with my diagnosis & finding more compassion for myself 🩷
- Date posted
- 1y
Can ROCD make you think you don't like your boyfriend anymore and like someone else. It's really distressing:(
Related posts
- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 25w
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is one of the hardest but most effective treatments for OCD. If you’ve started ERP, what has been the biggest challenge in resisting compulsions?
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 24w
I used to get caught in a loop with existential thoughts very frequently. Every question made my stomach drop: (TW: existential questions) … … ... "Why does anything exist at all? What will death be like? Is anything even real? Is there any meaning to this? Is the universe infinitely big, and if not, what's beyond it? Are there multiverses? Has the universe been around forever? Will the universe end for good, or will it keep going forever? What is forever like? What even IS reality?" It would get so overwhelming that I remember lying on the floor in a fetal position for hours because I felt like there was no escape. I spent most of my days reading articles and watching videos about theoretical astrophysics and philosophy in a desperate attempt to "figure it all out." Of course that only made me more anxious, raised more questions, and kept me trapped in the cycle. Things started to improve once I learned to turn TOWARD reality, rather than away from it, and ERP really helped me do that. I learned that these questions weren't the problem. I learned that I can actually handle the anxiety that arises when exposed to these ideas and concepts. I don't have to figure anything out to make the anxiety go away; it arises and passes away on its own. Ironically, bringing myself into the present moment and becoming more aware of reality helped me escape the cycle of existential dread. Because of that, this topic no longer takes over my life. If I'm triggered by something I see, hear, or think, I may still feel a little twang of anxiety, but then it just goes away. "Maybe, maybe not" has been the single most useful phrase of my life. Do you ever get trapped in a cycle of existential questions? Are you worried that the ERP approach would be too scary to handle? If so, I'm happy to give my advice.
- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 23w
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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