Iām in treatment, but I feel discouraged because I was told that OCD is permanent and wonāt go away. I feel like my motivation has been destroyed. I need some encouragement to keep going ā is that realistic? Also, I face daily pressures every day, and thereās so much stress. Iāve heard that stress keeps OCD alive ā is that true?
Hello Anonymous, First I would like to commend you for beginning treatment! You are right that OCD is chronic, but that does not mean it stays at the level of intensity that you are experiencing now. By chronic we mean that if you start to utilize compulsions to reduce distress, OCD will become louder, so staying on top of practice and sitting with uncertainty, keeps the OCD quiet. I think of it as brushing teeth. You don't brush, you get a cavity. You brush it keeps your mouth clean. You brush daily, but it's a small portion of the time you spend in your day. This is analogous to OCD, in that it may only be a thought that passes, rather than experiencing prolonged distress. If you would like more information on OCD and ERP, you may visit www.treatmyocd.com. I also recommend being kind to yourself. OCD didn't develop in a day, but with your therapist, it will be brought down to the foundations much more rapidly. I hope this message reaches you well and I wish you the best on your journey of recovery! Take care, Ian M. Reeder
Hi, thank you for your advice ā I really appreciate it. Yes, Iām managing my treatment on my own since my therapist is no longer available. I need your advice on something: thereās a post on my page that says āPlease give me some advice, I really need it.ā I think if you could leave a comment and share your thoughts there, it would really help me and make me very happy. Thank you so much for your effort!
It seems like OCD has latched onto OCD in your case. OCD is not necessarily permanent, and keep in mind that incurable does not mean untreatable. Recovery is possible and many people conquer their OCD. Stress can make OCD flare, but you will learn how to manage stress while keeping OCD at bay š«¶š»
@truetrev One of the best answers yet. The old neuronal highway is still there but can go from a highway to track then almost never hears a thing except when condtions arise where down traffic can go down it. If we learn to divert back to the new highway we can forget once again that track even existed at all. Thatās the truth about all things. Everything runs down these tracks and highways Memories are the same. The more engaged we are the more those highways remain open and donāt become tracks. Donāt think of them for years and some memeories even are forgotten.
Iām now more than 20 years free from mine now. I donāt hear it any more. Neuro plastic behaviour is real. We learn more about our true nature find the core fear and examine the fact thoughts are just thoughts and we are in fact completely the masters of our own destiny so I disagree. I used a bit of Buddhist philosophy to really break it all. We learn in that that we are made up of many things and thoughts really are not the sum of us. They come they go. When we give them energy they become more solid. Divert and learn their transition illusory nature and they dissolve. Learn about response your body has too knowing the cortisol and adrenaline releases that occur are misfires based on a misfired thought. I disagree with what youāre been told.
In some cases you can even live your life without even noticing it this takes time and effort, the harder you work on it the more your brain re wires itself the more free you become!
Hello and yes ocd doesnāt just go away, you just have to learn to ignore it. Itās like an annoying bully that you just have to block out it takes time and Iām still trying to overcome it. Stress is a key factor in ocd as well the more you feed it the more itāll attack.
I just responded to our previous message. Try not to focus on what may or may not happen someday, take one day at a time. Trust the process, you'll experience freedom. I'm in your corner! šš¼
It is permanent, but you can adapt and live a full life. Some people have health issues, others have mental disorders...every one has some cross. OCD does suck, but you can manage it. I promise.
I have this idea that if i stopped my current ocd it will comeback again in another form. Forexample, when i was 9 by the help of a doctor i stopped washing my hand every 10 mintues but then ocd switched into another theme, which is religious, and when i stopped that it again changed. And now i have prefction and mental ocd. So my question is why bother trying fix something isn't fixable? It takes a while to notice that the thing you have been doing is ocd, double the time to treat it, is there a permenant treatment or is it just tourture ? P.S sorry for my english i'm not from the U.S
Hey everyone itās been a while since I posted on here. Honestly, I try to stay off of this app unless I really need advice because I find it triggering at times. But right now Iām feeling pretty down and just would like some hopeful and helpful advice. Has anyone ever felt like theyāre just not capable of getting out of this? Has anyone ever felt like ERP therapy isnāt working or that they just canāt get itās a click? . Iāve been in ERP therapy for over a year just about a year and a half actually and I literally feel so stagnant and stuck still. I show up every week I do my exposures, but my body is in such a chronic fight or fight all the time that it feels almost impossible to apply the tools. Iām super sensitive to begin with and I feel things very deeply and because of that it feels like Iām not gonna be able to ever change. It feels like no matter what I do or experience Iām just gonna always feel it so deeply and itās gonna just rattle me all of the time. Iām honestly so frustrated. Iām tired and Iām overwhelmed. I so badly wanna change these patterns that I have and grow and be out of this OCD spiral, but everything just feels impossible. Iām just wondering if Iām alone here?? Has anyone ever felt this way? Has ERP taken a long time for anyone else or am I the only one that just canāt get my brain to click with it? Any encouraging and helpful words would be greatly appreciated thank you š
I always worry that my OCD is treatment resistant? No matter how much ERP Ive been doing for the past decade or so, I somehow am met with my themes again, sometimes coming back tenfold. Maybe Iām doing ERP wrong. Maybe I have something worse than OCD. I just have so many obsessions and themes and feel my avoidant behaviors trying to kick in no matter how much I try to resist. Iām exhaustedā¦and it sucks. Even my sister told me āsome people are not meant to overcome hurdles because God wants them to be strongerā referring to me. Now I feel like my OCD is impossible to get over. I donāt want to be strong, I want to be at peace. Iām not even religious and this is getting to my head and Iām spiraling. I canāt afford to be on medication or go to therapy. Iām struggling so hard.
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