Any advice for coping with ocd outside of therapy

Hello! I’m still pretty new to ocd recovery. I’ve been seeing my therapist for a couple months now, and have just recently started noticing major shifts in how I react to my intrusive thoughts. My intrusive thoughts and anxiety are still there, but I cope completely differently to the discomfort and anxious feelings. I still have my setbacks though. Just a couple days ago I would say I experienced a pretty major setback regarding an intrusive thoughts Ive dealt with for a couple months now. My brain prioritizes different thoughts for some time, and then moves to the next. Im sure you can relate to this harsh cycle of ocd. My brain currently chose to prioritize this specific thought and for some reason it has been much harder to cope with this thought, compared to others I’ve dealt with over the past couple weeks. It’s so hard to handle the discomfort regarding this thought, I feel like I just can’t do it and I’ve been falling into similar patterns that I experienced before seeking therapy. I would definitely bring this up to my therapist, but I dont see her for another two weeks, since she’s on vacation. She told me during our last session, that I could contact her, but I really don’t want to bother her with what is essentially work during her vacation. My brain tells me I can’t move on until I tell her this thought though, so how do I manage these next two weeks?

Jordan_K

Date posted: 10h

Well if your therapist said reach out don’t over think and reach out. Sorry your intrusive thoughts are coming back intense. What kind of thoughts are they?

Yazzyjazz

Date posted: 10h

@Jordan_K Yeah you’re probably right, but I’m so terrified of bothering her. This recent episode has been mainly surrounding real event and harm thoughts unfortunately. These are some obsessions that are the most difficult for me to overcome. Thanks for the support, I truly appreciate it!

CatGee

Date posted: 9h

Yes, I find it very difficult to cope between sessions when I have a setback. If you choose to contact her or if you choose to hold off and manage on your own until your next session, I support you! Whichever option you choose is perfect.

Yazzyjazz

Date posted: 9h

@CatGee Thank you, I appreciate your understanding! This is very encouraging, especially knowing im not alone with my feelings!

Lori F

Date posted: 9h

When my NOCD therapist went in vacation I was able to work with a substitute therapist.

Yazzyjazz

Date posted: 9h

@Lori F It’s strange considering the app we are using, but I don’t have therapy through nocd lol. I mainly use the nocd app for the community and their episode help tool. I really appreciate nocd, as their advocacy and education of ocd has been vital for my own personal journey. Before I was even diagnosed I watched their videos, listened to their podcast, and read their articles and it was crucial in my understanding of what I was personally struggling with. I still use their resources constantly, but not their actual therapy, maybe one day! Unfortunately my therapist would only get substituted if something were to happen to her that prevented her from working ever again.

Hopeful58

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 8h

I found that as I was learning how to deal with OCD thru therapy… OCD fought back hard. Hang in there. It is fine to contact your therapist for help! Sometimes it is 2 steps forward and one step back but hope and healing are real💝

Yazzyjazz

Date posted: 8h

@Hopeful58 Thank you so much! Truly, I appreciate you taking the time to write this. It is very encouraging, and it really helps knowing I’m not alone.

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