qk
- Date posted
- 5y
!!!!
- Date posted
- 5y
I had spitting ocd - I would get a bad thought and spit. It felt like I was ‘getting rid’ of the bad
krisblisskrisbliss
- Date posted
- 5y
Me too!!!
ChrisCChrisC
- Date posted
- 5y
I have this. About 6 months ago I started noticing the sensation to swallow and it grew from there. I thought I was going mad, I considered whether I’m somehow generating too much spit or whether I’m swallowing too much. It drove me insane initially so I contacted a counseling service over the phone which my work proivides (3 free sessions anonymously) and we did some ERP which helped. Also I am 3 months into some medication, still undecided as to whether it’s helping with this issue, but it’s definitely helped my anxiety overall. The issue comes and goes but with the ERP I’m able to manage it well enough at the moment. going to see my doctor to get a referral for some face to face counseling too. The person above (lots of thoughts) posted some useful stuff on a post I raised on this yesterday.
qkqk
- Date posted
- 5y
Can you go more in depth with the type of erp you are doing for this particular body sensation?
ChrisCChrisC
- Date posted
- 5y
Counselor taught me to try to allow the sensation to build up for 20 seconds without swallowing and then slowly push it out to 30 seconds and so on, while repeating in my head ‘it’s ok to let this feeling be here’ or a similar style mantra. Basically trying to be at peace with it being there. I’d definitely suggest counseling if you have access, as this might not work for you and the counselor is a professional (I am not!). Let me know how you get on and if you think of anything else that might be worth me trying as I’m still battling with it :)
qkqk
- Date posted
- 5y
I’ve been seeing one of the nocd specialists and we talked about this particular obsession.
ChrisCChrisC
- Date posted
- 5y
@qk Hopefully you found the session useful :)
qkqk
- Date posted
- 5y
@ChrisC Sort of, she said the same thing to not swallow when you get the urge to, but it’s very hard. Would another erp be to swallow and not think much of it or will that not work?
ChrisCChrisC
- Date posted
- 5y
@qk I found it really difficult to not swallow initially and it was very anxiety provoking - however since I went through the initial few days of this intense stress, things got a lot easier and it hasn’t returned to that intense level since. I agree it’s really hard and do understand and sympathise with what you’re going through :)
qkqk
- Date posted
- 5y
Thanks for the response; I will try this and see how it goes, but it will definitely be anxiety-producing. Still learning and accepting erp treatments as I still question how deliberately focusing my attention on the sensations I’m afraid of helps, but I trust this will work. I will seek counseling. Good luck to you ChrisC, you’ve got this.
MrMouse123MrMouse123
- Date posted
- 4y
Hi Chris and qk. I’m dealing with this as well and wondering what erp approach (waiting to swallow or just allowing myself to do so without thinking about it) is better. Have you been able to overcome and what worked?
Related posts
MichaelVu2010
- Date posted
- 21w
Somatic Ocd
Hello, Yesterday I’ve suddenly had problems with swallowing and my anxiety. like im scared of choking and would have a panic attack every-time i try to swallow food or water. Is there anyway to treat this?
taylorrpaigee
- Date posted
- 15w
Any tips?
This is my first time posting - I have a fear of throw up and I’ve been told it is cause from my OCD (repetitive thoughts) which makes sense because if someone gets sick it replays over and over again and I can’t get it out of my head. It’s gotten a lot worse in the past maybe two years. I’m always on edge that someone is going to get sick around me. I’ve heard the “best or most common” way to help with this is exposure therapy and OBVIOUSLY I don’t want to do that. Anyone have any tips or anything for this (or maybe have done the exposure therapy)?
May :)
- Date posted
- 14w
Hyperawareness of My Body
Hey there everyone, first I would like to say I am very grateful for every single one of you on this platform and it feels so much better knowing that I can be heard. I’ve been hyperaware of my swallowing for 1-2 month. I feel like I have so much saliva in my mouth and I have to swallow and swallow. I feel the urge to swallow even I don’t NOTHING in my mouth, so I just swallow air. This has been really overwhelming and I feel like I can be so easily latched to other body part of my part. For example, I was conscious about my blinking and breathing for a few days, and now I get so anxious when I heard a weird sound my ears make after each sentence I speak. Is this somatic ocd or health concern ocd? I am so helpless and having a hard time to shift my attention. Does anyone have any suggestions or just words of encouragement would really help me at this moment. I REALLY appreciate your help. 💗🙏 Thank you !
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