When you are learning new mindsets and new ways of doing things, expect a time period of failure. That's not bad or wrong. It's just the way it is. It is the way of human growth. Eventually, down the line, you will succeed! But don't be discouraged if you fail for a long time first. 💕😀
I’m gonna screenshot this! I’ve been trying to overcome some very tough compulsions, and I’ve been failing left and right a lot. It can get discouraging. Thank you for the thoughtful post!
Thank you I really needed this! I’m trying to find OCD therapy in the UK but nowhere offers ERP only anxiety and depression :( and I can’t tell my GP because they will notify my mum and I can’t afford private therapy either so I’m scared I will have this for the rest of my life :(( I wish there were more services for OCD
@Preena NOCD does offer serviced in the UK, if that is helpful
Also thank you so much you really helped me with my OCD a few years ago and without it I wouldn’t be in medical school, I’m so grateful 🙏 I hope you are doing ok too
@Preena I am so so, so proud of you!!!! You were really brave for taking the steps that you have taken, and you have shown a lot of grit that you have continued to pursue medical school. You are going to help a lot of people. 😀😀👍
@Tea and Honey Thank you- you too!! :) I’m going to try and get a diagnosis for OCD and hopefully start ERP because I’m 19 now so my parents don’t have to find out 😂 I feel like if I told them they’d think I’m crazy
@Tea and Honey - Question when you have the body sensation do you feel trembling in your body and like you can’t relax ?
@Preena It's true your parents might not understand. I'm sure they would love you through it all though! Yes, it would be so good if you could get a diagnosis and get ERP. I wish NOCD was available to you.
@Anonymous I've had a lot of mini-panic attacks where I kinda felt like I was dying, but not exactly like you are describing.
I needed this. I’ve been dealing with a setback that I’ve been working through for almost a week now. And it’s like, how long goes it take for the ERP to really kick in and the checking/rumination to stop? It’s a little frustrating for me as well because it’s focused on a bodily sensation that’s hard to ignore. Like 5 days on the same topic now is exhausting ya know. Anyone have any firsthand tips or advice ?
@Anonymous I spent years on and off with a struggle focused on a body sensation. I know you can use ERP for that. I didn't do that, but mine was mild. I can tell you what I learned. It's the FEAR that drives the cycle. If you can deal with the fear, it all gets easier. Sometimes it can help to just ACCEPT the outcome that you fear. For example, I told myself when I was having mini-panic attacks, that I'm ready to die. So if I die, that's just fine. This helped to calm my anxiety. It can also help to LEAN INTO the symptoms. For example, if your heart is racing, you tell yourself, "That's awesome that my heart is racing! I hope it beats even faster! I hope it stays like this all day!" This is training your brain that you just don't care if the symptom is there or not. In the end, I made some hardline decisions. I decided that this bodily sensation was not dangerous. And when I decided that, and I was no longer afraid of it, my anxiety level went down to almost nothing.
@Tea and Honey Remember, the bodily sensations are meaningless, just like the intrusive thoughts. If it's a bodily sensation like a groinal or just feeling weird, your job is to just ignore it. Don't fight it off, but just let it pass. You need to treat it just like you would do for any other intrusive thought.
@Tea and Honey Do you want to talk about what bodily sensation it is?
Facts. Why is it that I have good days and than I have bad days. Today my friends are going to play basketball and I really want to go but my anxiety and OCD is super high. I honestly don’t know what to do.
@Anonymous Try to go if you can.
@Tea and Honey - I ended up pushing through it and went. But it truly was hard. I just want to get better and it’s just hard. It feels like I’m not going to be able to do things normally and in a relax way other than freaking out due to anxiety and OCD. I panic way too much and now it’s body sensation. Feeling like I have to color or knot in my stomach and also next tightness and breathing abnormal cause of anxiety.
@Anonymous I'm proud of you for pushing through. I hear you. It's really hard. And you are brave for doing things that other people don't have to do. It's going to give you a measure of strength that other people don't have. They don't have to face what you face. But you are brave for doing it. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to do the ERP every single time. But you are working on it. That's awesome!! So I have a few follow-up questions if you wanna talk about this more. Do you feel like you HAVE TO your stomach on purpose, so that it feels like a certain color? I can relate to that. I used to feel like words had to occupy a certain space in my head. I have some treatment for you, if this is the case. Do you mind describing it to me a bit more so that I can understand?
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