- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
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
Who r u working with?
- Date posted
- 5y
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
Who r u working with?
- Date posted
- 5y
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
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
Who r u working with?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 22w
Hi! I've been on my OCD healing journey for about half a year and I have seen a lot of success. I'm reaching out for advice, I am very willing to do exposures because I know the more I do them, the more I get better, but I struggle with the response prevention part. I don't know how to control my brain when it comes to facing the fears especially since most of my compulsions are mental. I can tell myself the typical things "I am okay with the uncertainty of this happening", etc. but its like my brain doesn't believe them. I've been stuck in this disconnect for a while and would love advice you have heard from a therapist or learned that has really help you.
- Date posted
- 15w
So I’ve noticed that my OCD has calmed down, I’m getting less intrusive thoughts but I feel more uncertain than ever. Is this normal for recovery?
- Date posted
- 11w
I read about ERP and have seen information about it on here. One of the goals is to say, "maybe I am this or that...ect." That terrified me. The thoughts and images that go in my head are disturbing and upsetting. I don't want to even think about saying, "maybe this or that." It's devasting to have these thoughts and question why you're having these thoughts. Doesn't the "maybe" make it worse? The one thing that helps me is that is to remind myself that these are just thoughts and I know I'm not a monster, even if I feel like one. Is ERP not for everyone? Has anyone else had a problem with the techniques used in this kind of therapy? I had cognitive therapy for years with an OCD specialist and that seemed to help a lot. Writing out the worst case scenarios would make me suicidal. Im having a difficult time not obsessing over the "maybe" after intrusive thoughts now. It doesn't make it better.
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