Anyone have any tips on not making ERP a compulsion? I find myself sometimes wanting to do exposures in order to make myself feel better (feel my anxiety go down and feel relief). 😅
Oh my. This is a fear of mine too. Bookmarking to see if others reply too.
lol, I tend to make everything into rules in my life. It's like I don't know how to do anything in a real way without turning it into rules.
@Tea and Honey Yes! I do this too!! For me, my brain is regularly trying to optimize or refine or perfect routines/processes/protocols, even when it’s not necessary at all (and it often does this at the expense of my energy/bandwidth/enjoyment — I spend so much time “problem solving” things that don’t need to be solved lol) 🫠
Yeah, OCD can be one sneaky sucker! When I have this happen, I try to catch myself and think/say, "Okay that's a compulsion. I don't need that in my life." It helps.
@Steven55! OCD IS *SO* SNEAKY!!! 😅 I’ll try your response when I catch myself. Thank you!
If doing an exposure feels ‘urgent’ or like you need to do it to feel better it’s a compulsion. Resist the exposure in that moment and treat it like any other compulsion. I’ve been there with this and tell myself nope that wants me to check how I feel and if I really would do something I don’t need to entertain that right now. It’s hard I know when everything is screaming you need certainty but it won’t get you anywhere helpful trust me
@Liv Good call — I’ll pay attention to whether I feel urgency or that I have to do it to feel better. That will help me notice it’s a compulsion and stop. I’ve been challenging myself to do ERP imperfectly as well, in the hopes that will help too.
I have scheduled them at certain times of the day and that has worked well for me. If it is not my scheduled time and I feel the desire to do an exposure then it's likely me wanting to do a compulsion in that moment. The schedule keeps me from not performing an exposure based up how I feel in the moment but simply because I have it scheduled and I try to stick to that schedule, kinda like a job. Also, I try to avoid trying to have the "perfect" exposure. Some are really hard and others are easier. Just be awarel if you feel you didn't do the exposure well / properly try avoid doing it again in that moment as it is likely becoming a compulsion at that point. Realize it is a process and you will have more opportunities to practice in the future.
@orthopt Yes, good advice about scheduling! very helpful!
Also establishing an exposure hierarchy can be really helpful. Try starting with your lower ranked (easier) exposures first. This lets you learn ERP skills early in the process and then you can move to harder exposures once you've mastered your lower ranked ones. A hierarchy also let's you be flexible with your exposures. If you try a higher level and it is too difficult you can move to the lower tiered exposure and master that until you're ready for the higher tired one again. Most importantly don't give up if you give in to compulsion during ERP from time to time. I'm pretty sure it happens to everyone (I know it has to me), just work towards acceptance and try to get back into your ERP schedule. Hope this helps. I'm glad to hear your working with ERP. It's hard, but the work is worth it
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