What do you find scary about starting therapy?

@jensen.not.ackles Thanks for sharing, I can totally understand that. Your self-awareness to identify your sensitivity around having control is impressive in itself. Did you ultimately get help? If so, how did you overcome that fear of losing autonomy?

@nocdtherapy123 I did! And I still struggle with that which ultimately impacts my therapeutic relationship with my therapists — I’m only hurting myself in the long run but I’m working to build trust and strengthen that connection

@jensen.not.ackles I was worried my therapist would send me to jail due to my real event

@Anonymous497 Oh boy, I get it. That fear and debate of “will it work or won’t it” can be all-consuming. I’m not a licensed therapist so I can’t offer any clinical advice. I also can’t promise that it will work for you but I can say that ERP therapy is genuinely the gold-standard for OCD treatment. And there’s quite a few success stories within our community to support that :) I do interact with quite a few of our community members, some of whom say booking that first call is the best thing they’ve ever done. Maybe a few folks will share their experience, and you can maybe hear how it helped them. Is there anything I can tell you or can I answer any questions you have that would maybe quell your worry a bit?

@Anonymous Thank you for opening up and sharing. Your response actually made me feel more comfortable being a bit vulnerable! I’ve known I have had all kinds of thoughts replay in my head but I frankly never thought for a second about OCD. I thought maybe it was just my anxiety or my predisposition to be overly sensitive about what other people think of me. I’ve learned so much about OCD just by working at NOCD the past month and honestly, from being in this community. I just booked my own first 15 minute call last week and have a first session scheduled. It’s slightly scary to me because I never thought I had OCD, but it’s also comforting and even exciting to an extent because I’ve been grappling with my thoughts by myself for a long time. I’ve felt trapped in circuitous thinking and chalked it up to the fact that it’s just me. I’m a bit terrified myself - I went through a range of emotions like “What if they think I’m a fraud during the session?” or, to your point, “What if they say I don’t have OCD and then I just feel stupid?” or worse “What does that mean about the thoughts I have then?” I share that to say I relate more than you probably know. Curious, did you book the call with NOCD or start therapy? If so, how did it compare to what you thought it would be like?

@nocdtherapy123 I did! I’ve been working with my NOCD therapist for about two months now and I can’t say how shocked I am with how quickly ERP is making a difference for me. It’s very different than how I thought it would be. I think the most shocking and most humbling part was how unfazed and un-curious my therapist was about my obsessions. I went in there READY, with like explanations and evidence for why I don’t think my obsessions are really me, and she never really asked and would stop me if I went too deep into it, and that was such a good thing for me! If she doesn’t need evidence to believe I’m not actually wanting to do xyz, why do I? Is it really not shocking and terrible to have these thoughts? I don’t need to come in with an entire case prepared to defend my true morality? I guess I thought before starting therapy I’d have to convince her that I had OCD and wasn’t actually a terrible person, and instead, she was there to convince me that she had seen it all before and could help.

@Anonymous Wow, that’s awesome. Isn’t it wild sometimes what we convince ourselves of (in your case, perhaps that you had to convince her you weren’t a terrible person which you clearly are not)? And then get pleasantly surprised by reality once in awhile :) So glad to hear that ERP therapy is making a difference for you!