I’ve started ERP therapy with a really great therapist, and I haven’t gave into my compulsions but I still have anxiety and yesterday my brain was telling me that people were zombies😭 is this normal?
healing takes time, some days we may feel more anxious than any other day. it doesn't mean we are failing, This is just part of the way :)
Do you know that saying two steps forward one step back? It's definitely a thing. Watched my very young daughter go through this therapy over a year now and the progress is amazing but I can tell you there were very dark times and it wasn't always easy. Our brains are telling us a million things per second. Sometimes we get stuck on a random item that doesn't mean anything at all. Anxiety seems to be a part of this process. Your brain is learning how to live all over again and it's a pretty uncomfortable path to wellness. You can feel better though, I promise. I had doubts in the past but then I was proven wrong. You can do it, I believe in you.
When i started therapy in October, I thought my OCD would never get better. When my physicatrist told me last February I had OCD I resigned myself to it and then embarked on some of the worst months ever for my OCD. By the time i got here I didn’t have much hope. Now I’ve actually learned to deal with my OCD and for the first time in my life moving through the world isn’t a constant painful thing. Give it some time, it gets better i promise
Yep, normal. OCD does this type of stuff
I just started working on my first exposure today with my therapist after screening and creating the lists for several weeks now. We did an exposure together and now I feel 100x worse than I did coming in. I won’t go too into detail but it involved looking at a VERY gory image that had to do with my fear of natural disasters. I called my mom and talked with her and she was shocked and wondered how in the hell that would help me! I agree. Did any of y’all feel this way when you first started or is this just not the right kind of therapy for me?
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❤️
So you got to ask me anything… Now I’d like to ask you something! I’ve heard from Members that they were so scared coming to their first ERP session. They were terrified that I would think they were crazy, that I would tell them their worst fears were true. That I would confirm they are some form of a terrible person or have them hauled off to prison for their thoughts. I’ve also had Members share how they’re very scared to begin ERP treatment because they’ve researched enough to know it means facing the fear, without the compulsions that have kept them feeling safe (but not really safe) this entire time. They struggled to see how they could be capable of doing this, while simultaneously acknowledging that they did not want to live like this anymore. If you have had your first session, what were your thoughts before? Did you have any hesitations or fears going into it? How did it turn out? If you haven’t yet begun to work with an ERP specialist, what is holding you back?
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond
