- Date posted
- 5y ago
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I’ve learned that anxiety is just a normal human emotion and therefore I “try” not to give it more attention than that. I see it akin to nerves before a party or performance of mine. So I accept it as normal and don’t grapple with it. It subsided by itself! Best...
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Who r u working with?
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Hey! I've been doing ERP since the summer (although not as consistently as I should). I'm so glad to hear that it's really helped with your obsessive thoughts. I also now spend a lot less time obsessing than I used to, but I still have that free-floating anxiety (particularly in the mornings) which then can lead me to start analysing the feeling and then all the obsessive thoughts come back into my head. My psychologist says this is called emotional reasoning, where you assume that because you feel something, there must be a legitimate reason (rather than just a feature of our mentally ill brain, that has trained itself to always be on high alert). My advice would be to practice anxiety-reducing activities such as exercise, breathing, mindfulness, good diet/no caffeine /good sleep pattern, and hopefully your anxious feelings will subside a bit. Easier said than done, of course! (I'm going to be spending my whole life trying to figure out how to live well and manage my OCD!) all the best!
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Who r u working with?
- Date posted
- 5y ago
I’d recommend listening to Eckhart Tolle as he talks in great length about not being captured by your feelings or thoughts, exactly what OCDer’s suffer from. Also I use an app called HeadSpace and I find the anxiety course to be valuable. A lot of OCD is a calling for a more spiritual solution, not necessarily religious, but spiritual, meaning it’s all in your hands. Of course we have a mental illness so a lot more acceptance needs to be applied.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Yes, mine are still there and will always still be there because we have a mental illness. The key is to decrease the mental illness issues, not cure it.
- Date posted
- 5y ago
Who r u working with?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 14w ago
I’ve noticed that I’m somewhat happier also ignoring my thoughts than I am instead of doing compulsions (I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired atp) but I’ve heard you’re technically supposed to do erp rather than pushing under the rug. But idk if I have a thought I just refuse to think about it again and im fine even if I want to do compulsions
- Date posted
- 11w ago
Sometimes I notice my intrusive thoughts cause me to spiral and sometimes not. I've been practicing ERP for quite a while so it's a bit easier for me to not spiral. But I wonder why that happens. Does anyone else have it? Also I'm on medication idk if that plays a role.
- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 9w ago
So you got to ask me anything… Now I’d like to ask you something! I’ve heard from Members that they were so scared coming to their first ERP session. They were terrified that I would think they were crazy, that I would tell them their worst fears were true. That I would confirm they are some form of a terrible person or have them hauled off to prison for their thoughts. I’ve also had Members share how they’re very scared to begin ERP treatment because they’ve researched enough to know it means facing the fear, without the compulsions that have kept them feeling safe (but not really safe) this entire time. They struggled to see how they could be capable of doing this, while simultaneously acknowledging that they did not want to live like this anymore. If you have had your first session, what were your thoughts before? Did you have any hesitations or fears going into it? How did it turn out? If you haven’t yet begun to work with an ERP specialist, what is holding you back?
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