I’m 3 weeks in and don’t feel like it’s helping. Am I not doing it enough? I read something that said it’s like exercise. The more you do the more you’ll get better but I find erp hard and it makes me anxious. Do I need to just lean in hoping to get better faster? Bc where I am at is such a low point. Ruminating literally every min of the day, depressed. The light at the end of the tunnel seems so so far away.
I feel like it takes time. Also I feel like that’s the whole point, it’s supposed to make you anxious until you stop feeling anxious, you kind of have to let yourself feel in order to move on
Best advice I got was don’t put a time line on it. Everyone is different and can take different amounts of time to progress. Setting a time line can set you up for failure and disappointment and depression. As far as being like exercise, sure. It’s hard at the beginning and can become less hard over time. Think of OCD like an angry beast who’s always hungry. Except it eats compulsions. ERP is basically your start to starving it. The beast is going to fight back as hard as it can to keep its food. ERP is the last thing it wants you to do. OCD will make you feel as awful as it can to persuade you from not doing ERP. Hardest thing for me to learn about ERP is that the RP is the most important part. If you expose yourself to a trigger but continue to do the safety behavior such as rumination right after, it won’t work. The trigger is not the issue, our response is. So after the exposure, try not to engage with the intrusive thoughts as they flood in. Allow them to be there without trying to answer them or figure it out. The TLDR is basically: ERP sucks at first and you will probably feel miserable for a while but it can be worth it in the long run. You just have to sit there and let yourself feel miserable to teach your brain you can handle it.
You are definitely not alone. This week is my 3rd week and I believe this is just the tip of therapy. It’s going to be a process but from what I understand once we get over that hump, it’s an amazing treatment. Keep going! My thoughts are constant right now, ruminating and mental compulsions most of the day, not sleeping which intensifies it. No one has ever told me about ERP and I’m so glad I found this site for therapy. Hang in there, do the work, and once it clicks we will know it.
Great advice. Thank you all. I’m in such a bad place that I just want to get better so badly. Maybe in my desperation for some relief from my rumination ALL day and night I’m hoping for quick relief and haven’t put in as much work as I should yet. Just feels hard. Thanks for understanding.
@EndlessNoise Don’t give up. I gave up on erp several times in the last 6 years and regret it deeply. I’ve been consistent w it since August of last year and am finally seeing some results. Don’t put a time line on recovery. It just sets you up for failure. I learned that the extremely hard way. You are not alone. You can do this.
The first month for me was hard. The rumination was hard but, especially with erp. It almost seemed like it made the ocd worse but it gets a little worse before it gets better. Stick with your erp exercises and lean into your anxiety. Give it time. It will get better
That means the erp is working if you are feeling anxious. The goal is to expose yourself and keep exposing yourself until your brain and body are no longer afraid.
My opinion on this may be controversial but here it is lol: Yes, ERP is the gold standard for OCD treatment but it is not the ONLY treatment. Talk to your therapist about other issues that may be contributing to the distress you’re feeling. You are not a failure if you need to take a step back or need to deal with other things first so that ERP can work better.
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