Uughh

Im struggling to identify what exposures I can do. Most of them have stopped making me anxious so I need to amp it up. Problem is I can't think of anything. Like I know for sure theres definitely exposures I can do but I can't remember them for the life of me I guess it makes sense. If you live most of your life in autopilot and fear, your brain wont retain much information other than the ones to survive. If you have POCD, Harm OCD, or any relating to morality please lmk what your exposures are (if you feel comfortable) :,3 I need inspo

Anxious girl💐

Date posted: 16h

I’m not sure if this helps, when I lay next to my boyfriend and that thought comes. That’s when my anxiety gets really really bad and I feel the need to get up and leave the room. I try to stay there and sit with it maybe even hug him for a long period of time.

no more running

Date posted: 16h

If the thoughts don't make you anxious, isn't that the goal? When do you get anxious, perhaps when they come on their own and surprise you? If that's the case then living your life is the best exposure, without stopping to solve the thought. I can offer some suggestions but please tell when do you get anxious? Because if there is no fear then there is no problem to fix

An0nymouss122

Date posted: 16h

@no more running I apologize I think i misworded myself. What I mean is when I do an exposure, like going to the mall (did that because I was terrified of seeing someone i used to know and them confronting me and accuse me of shit or mutual friends calling me out for something) im not as anxious as i was before. It went from like level 8 to a 3 maybe 5 on a bad day. I understand some of these are internal because they focus on morality, but I was wondering if there was exposures to trigger the intrusive thoughts. You are right that exposures work best when they surprise me, but unfortunately my current life is simple enough I no longer come across these triggers. So I wondered how I could practice exposures more consistently since I was under the impression it needed to be done every day. I seem to get the most anxious involving morality or others needing help and I can't help. Or around children which currently is still a lvl 10 so we are still working on that. Currently my only exposure Idea would be to look into internet drama, since it involves morality most of the time. But other than that im drawing a blank

no more running

Date posted: 16h

@An0nymouss122 No need to apologize my friend. First, congratulations. It's very nice that it went from level 8 to 3-5. You don't need to always have an exposure that is a level 7+. Sometimes through practice they all become 1, that is the goal anyway. Since morality is mostly internal and mental, maybe you could try writing a story about your worst fear in first person and in present tense. (I am sitting here. I do X...). Or even if you get anxious about not doing enough exposures, you can practice directly on that. "Maybe I'm not doing enough exposures and my OCD will get worse" Or "maybe I'm doing it wrong". Because the muscle to tolerate uncertainty is the same so it can help. Hope it helps.

An0nymouss122

Date posted: 12h

@no more running Thank you ! This is really inspiring !

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