- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
Well, ERP really is different for everyone. It all depends on how you approach the sessions. It won't do you any good if you immediately do compulsions after it's over, that'll effectively wipe out all the work you did. But if you commit to cutting down on all your compulsions, including ruminating, you can expect to notice a difference very fast, sometimes by the next day (my experience)! I'm still not cured, and I've been at it on my own on and off for months, but I'm noticing a lot of relief very quickly when I really buckle down and take it seriously. It's hard to do, though, while I've done ERP I've had awful panic attacks, but if you stick the course long-term recovery is there. I would seriously recommend doing ERP under the supervision of a trained professional, though. If you do too much too soon you can scare yourself too bad and cause a relapse in compulsions. But if you think you can handle it/can't afford a therapist like me, I'd say go for it, but with a lot of care.
- Date posted
- 5y
One OCD podcast I listen to believes that if you really commit to OCD recovery and ERP you can recover in 6 months. Me personally though, I think in some cases it might take longer. Each case of OCD is unique.
- Date posted
- 5y
Ahh thank you!! Any ideas on what to do as exposure for HOCD?
- Date posted
- 5y
What is the name of the podcast you listen to? Thanks
- Date posted
- 5y
@chizz That one is called OCD Recovery, Ali Greymond
- Date posted
- 5y
@dpveritasgold Thank you :)
- Date posted
- 5y
According to my therapist, it depends on a few things like severity and for how long you've been doing compulsions. In my case she thinks it's kind of severe but she thinks around a year?
- Date posted
- 5y
I'm pure O mainly, also ROCD
- Date posted
- 5y
No two people are the same, but if you actively do ERP....and stick to it regardless of how you feel the anxiety will fall naturally....Its not easy and there will be slips and trips along the way but as long as you keep moving forward I would say 6 months you will see a massive improvement....but you have to stick to the program no matter how much the anxiety tries to make you do compulsions to make you feel relief from ocd
- Date posted
- 5y
True, it really depends on the person, and how much you put into wanting to heal
- Date posted
- 5y
(For HOCD btw)
- Date posted
- 5y
I also have HOCD, to give perspective.
Related posts
- 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?
- Date posted
- 23w
How long should I do ERP, so that my brain gets used to it, not to say tired?! I've been working for about three months, but everything still seems vivid in my head, there are even vulgar words in detail... since the sexual topic is both a groinal and a feeling that I want to touch myself. It's mostly related to faces and genitals, so how exactly can that go, if it's emphasized that sex pictures in themselves give that feeling, whoever is in them?
- Date posted
- 16w
I had just posted a summary of ERP for a group member, and I thought it might be useful for everybody. Here it is below (with a little extra added)…. ERP therapy is researched-based. Most other therapies don’t work. There have been people who have been literally stuck in their houses (from their OCD) who gained their lives back through ERP therapy. NOCD does ERP therapy exclusively. You can find it in other places too, but you have to ask around. There are two tenants of ERP therapy: The first one has to do with the repetitive thoughts inside our heads. These thoughts are actually defined as “obsessions”. You are not supposed to do anything with the obsessions. You are supposed to let them run through your head freely, without trying to fix them or stop them. Imagine a tree planted by a river. The leaves fall off and float down the river. You can see the leaves falling, but you don’t try to stop them or pick them up. You don’t try to fix them. You just let them float away. This is really important to do with your obsessive thoughts. The more you try to fight them off, the worse they get. I used to have blasphemous sentences running in my head 24/7. I felt like I had to put a “not” next to each sentence in order to “fix” it. But this just took hours of my time every day, and it was very scary, because I was worried that if I messed up, that I would go to hell. It was very freeing to learn later that I could just let those sentences run freely through my head without trying to fix them. The second part of ERP therapy is all about “denying your compulsions.” Every time OCD tells you that if you don’t do things a certain way that something really bad will happen, that is a compulsion. Once you recognize what your compulsions are, ERP therapy will have you practice stopping doing all of those things. For some people, that will mean stopping washing their hands or touching lights switches or, in my case, putting “fixing” words in their head. Compulsions are safety behaviors. During ERP therapy, you will practice stopping engaging with safety behaviors. All this is very hard to do and scary, so during therapy you will be given tools to help you deal with the fear. Often ERP therapy will take people from being non-functional to functional. I highly recommend it. ————————————————- PITFALL #1: After you have been doing ERP for a while and become somewhat successful, the OCD will try subtle little tricks to bring you down again. The first one is to tell you that your thoughts are REAL and not OCD, and therefore you can’t apply ERP therapy. Don’t fall for this trick! All thoughts are just thoughts. They are all meaningless. Don’t try to figure out what is real and what is OCD. Just treat all thoughts with ERP therapy. PITFALL #2: The second pitfall is that OCD will tell you that you can’t move forward unless you have absolute certainty that you will be safe. Hate to tell you this, folks, but there is no certainty in life. You will never know for SURE that you or your loved ones will be “safe” from the OCD rules. Therefore, you have to move forward in the uncertainty. It’s hard, but it gets easier with time and practice. We got this, guys !!!!!!
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