What decision, action, or change has had the biggest positive impact on your OCD journey? Maybe it's starting ERP, finding the right therapist, joining this community, or practicing self-compassion. Join the conversation and share what's helped you most. 💭
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I totally get you. There is no point to be overwhelmed - step by step we work on our recovery.
Little by little. You can do this, you will be able to get out to the dumpster. Work with your therapist and ease your way out there over time.
I think that's really great Meet yourself where you are and do what is best for maintaining and recovering
Believing in the Lord. Knowing what's true and not true. My thoughts might say I'm scared of such and such, but in reality I know its not true. So ERP helps with facing fears, that I know are irrational. This is what has helped me
Honestly, yeah. I find praying helps a lot. As long as it's genuine and not a compulsion.
Stepping away from rumination. Even on days like today, where it’s really tempting to ruminate, I’ve identified that as the biggest compulsion that I’ve done and it makes a huge difference when I don’t do that.
Yes! Stepping away from "I must do more" and towards "what if I just don't. What would I spend my time on". Had a moment like this today.
I feel that I am more aware when I am acting on my obsessions and can identify and label my OCD. That helps me feel less stuck in the moment and allows me to break out of my mental reviewing loop. My therapist has made a huge difference in helping me understand what works and what doesn’t work for me, but it’s a long journey. Still, I’m grateful that my quality of life has improved a little, and I’m hopeful I can continue learning how to manage my OCD-related behaviors.
You can do it! When I first started ERP I pretty mucj was told that there's really no amount of exposures that's too much and that I can do as many as I like (I have OCPD, so extreme work habits is a thing for me), as long as I'm taking care of myself and am doing stuff in between to make it worth it.
@Anonymous Hey, I'm curious, is ERP good for Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder?
One thing that helped me was to join this community. I had no idea that I even had OCD until I got on this app. Jesus really helped me by making provisions, such as this app, and comfort. I had OCD across many topics, and we didn’t know what to do until I got on this app. I had a DOCS of a 26, and me and my family started to understand that OCD can affect you on the weirdest and unexpected ways possible. I am praying for all of you 🙏, and I hope you all have a blessed day and stay safe from this winter storm!
Heck yeah brother. Keep it up.
Using logic to guide my OCD thoughts and questions to find the answers I need, ather than using irrational means. In addition, asking myself, "is this worth worrying about throughout the day, or is it such an extremely unlikely possiblity that the statistical likelyhood is virtually zero? This helps my quality of life.
The best thing I've done to manage my OCD was learning about what my mental compulsions were using the list in the Mindfulness Workbook for OCD. I thought imagining the worst thing I could was me doing exposures, but because I was doing it to make sure I felt the right way about it, it was actually compulsive flooding/mental testing and was making my OCD worse. Exposures don't help without response prevention, turns out.
Making note of this. I struggle with this too
I almost wonder if you were imagining things that you already knew were beyond the scope of your control and compulsions, almost as a way of avoiding your real obsessions and fears.
@Anonymous Um no? I was imagining the things I most feared? This was not maladaptive daydreaming. All I was trying to avoid was uncertainty about the things I most feared.
For me starting ERP , practicing it, sticking to it, acknowledging that not everyday is going to be 100% perfect ,accepting it and finally living one day at a time.
Realizing that accepting the thoughts didn’t make them true and mean that you believed them. It just means they are thoughts. A thought is a thought and that’s it.
My biggest hurdle I have overcome is allowing myself to get to the core values of my life and not simply being defined by my compulsion
That's powerful
Right now my goal is to let go of control. I'm finding I'm enjoying things much more when I'm not trying to prove anything to myself or others. Just trying to exist.
Try to cut out compulsions. Am not always successful but I keep trying. And use triggers as ERP.
Getting help and to realize that I have OCD. Naming my “different nature” was not a tagging. It was the first big leap.
Staying committed to using ERP and not submitting to my compulsions, I have contamination OCD, and it gets Hard , but I believe this therapy will work over time
Continual learning and awareness of my triggers, compulsions, and using erp in the moment! I’m growing more and more in awareness and it’s becoming a more regular habit to use ERP skills in my everyday life, which is huge!
The best thing I have done for my OCD is to ignore the urge to ruminate even when it feels incredibly real and difficult in tandem with offering myself so much self compassion. This has done wonders for me and even boosts my confidence in the fact that I will make it to a point of recovery. I’m not perfect, and I definitely slip up a LOT still, but I have made so much progress in the last year 🥳
Self compassion (and compassion!) Is the secret weapon against ocd! It's easy to beat yourself up (and others), hard to find forgiveness and self-love and kindness towards others. Keep it up!
The best thing I've done to manage my OCD is accept that it is not a battle to win alone. I have built more support, gotten back on medications to help alleviate the symptoms, and am working to give myself more compassion. OCD is not a battle I wish on anyone, and I am grateful for the love and encouragement I have been given.
Accepting I have OCD
Finding a Therapist who really helped me. She was really insightful into my journey and put alot in perspective for me. She respected my apprehension on some ERP exercises and was very patient and supportive. I’ve gained great progress and personal understanding because of Joy Cannon
1. Joining this community after I was recommended to it by a different therapist (that was a hard pill to swallow), 2. Finding a therapist and sticking with her, 3. Starting ERP therapy. ERP therapy has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Telling myself “I’m not sure I turned the stove off (or anything else that could burn my house down), but meh, who knows” has been the bane of my existence, truly lol but time and time again, ERP therapy works lol
Terry Lee…the way you said Get help! seems like you are being mean spirited. I really hope there is some misunderstanding because that is inappropriate to speak to anyone that way. I would really appreciate your explaining what you meant by writing Get help! Thank you
@Scarlet5 I think they were answering the original fill in the blank line
@Nikki71 Thank you for clarifying that! 😊
The best thing ive done to manage my ocd (?) Is to not let myself get judgmental. The types of thoughts I have tend to disturb me and I usally go straight to thinking terribly about myself and how others would think of me if they knew about my intrusive thoughts. I remember being told to view my intrusive thoughts as a separate entity, like a monster or a bully. But that had always lead me back to feel crap about myself. So instead I try to veiw them as a leaf, watching it come from a tree and onto the lake where it can pass by me.
Get on abilify! Thank God I was led to it.
Does Abilify help with your OCD? I find it makes mine much worse. Or atleast difficult to do ERP on
@Anonymous The type of OCD I struggled with bordered on delusions. It is pure O (no rituals just intense rumination to disprove delusional intrusive thoughts that are nonsensical) the area of the brain that it affects is where the dopamine is. Mine was out of whack hence why SSRIs (for serotonin) made the anxiety worse and did nothing for the thoughts, for me and anti psychotics like abilify help me. I didn’t lose touch with reality (because ocd and psychotic disorders are obviously fundamentally different I didn’t have hallucinations) but maintaining insight was getting overwhelming cognitively and abilify did the work for me by day 6-7 now I am almost back to my old self but maybe even better. Hope this helps! Good luck
The best thing I’ve done to manage my OCD is go to treatment at Roger’s! This was after OCD workbooks and a year of therapy with a specialist. Nothing compares to treatment in my opinion!
Beginning ERP
starting ERP 100%
Three steps: Educate, Reform, Recover. Finding NOCD and getting educated on what the illness was, reforming by changing my actions and practicing ERP, and recover my life back, my sanity, and my overall happiness. Finding community was a major part of this as well
Was to learn about what OCD is through therapy and how to manage it.
The best thing I’ve done to manage my OCD is therapy. Reading and learning more about it. And not be judgmental about these thoughts I’m having even though some people judge me for having them you can’t help them they have to help themselves to learn about OCD.
Get help!
@TerryLee2217 Please explain why you wrote Get help! Thank you
@Scarlet5 I am not talking for TerryLee2217, but my understanding is that Terry was responding to the original question, "The best thing I have done for my OCD is..... and Terry's answer is "Get help!"
Talk to my therapist Scarlett
@Jackson2684 Who is your therapist
One of my biggest OCD issues is driving on the interstate, I have panic attacks and almost feel like I’m gonna pass out so I avoid driving the interstate altogether
Me too. I avoided the college campus where I'm at at all costs, it's a college town so my world gets small real fast.
is__ Be Curious❣️🦸♀️🧚♀️Curiousity is my super power. It recharges my willpower when I'm ready to quit. It reframes limiting OCD *what-ifs* into helpful *what-if* hypothesis.. experimenting during ERP, facing the unknown, the uncertainty. Curiousity keeps my mind open to seek, to search, to self advocate and ask "WEIP~what else is possible?" using supportive resources through NOCD
Breathing exercises 😮💨.. prayer 🙏🏽 Seeking a therapist to talk to
Go with it and not fight against the feelings and thoughts
Start ERP
take a nap!
My mom told me to imagine a big cliff and since I’m scared of heights it goes up and than it goes down that’s how I win against ocd
I do absolutely nothing
Started taking Zoloft and going over 300mg a day. ERP was useless to me. Actually it worsened my ocd every single time.
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