Does this app help or make things worse?

This is exactly my experience: was tough at first but make great exposures

@Stay.Fluid I didn’t think of it that way. OCD is so confusing sometimes. Figuring out what’s an exposure or obsession or compulsion or just normal is hard. Like some posts I read and it makes me start worrying ruminating about past events… is that a compulsion? Or is reading something triggering a good exposure? I don’t know. Again though, it’s nice not to be alone.

@smilesplash I would say the simplest way to put it is the obsession usually causes distress. That’s how you can identify it. Then what you do to get some type of short term relief (rumination, seeking reassurance, researching, physical rituals, etc.) is a compulsion. Exposures take your obsessions and challenge you to sit with them but not do compulsions. You’re doing great and things will get easier! Ruminating about past events = compulsion for sure 😊 And yes, reading something triggering can be used as an exposure, but there is a proper way to do an exposure and the steps are all important.

@Stay.Fluid The “not doing compulsions” piece is sometimes the part I miss. I often don’t realize something is a compulsion until I’ve been doing it for a long time. Thank you for helping me tease it apart.

@vi The time limit is a good idea. I definitely had a research compulsion when I was first diagnosed, and using this app does feel very similar to that. I’ve found myself trying harder to “figure out” my OCD… which is something I know just can’t be done. But I want to make sense of this experience. It’s so hard. It does feel nice not to be alone.

@Verhat Setting limits can be good. I do want to support people. Even if the fears aren’t real, the person experiencing them matters.