Hi NOCD users, I’ve been very busy working with many new clients. I have learned from my work with each of you. I thought it may be helpful to share the steps of an ERP exercise for those of you out there practicing and running into common roadblocks. First, ERP stands for Exposure Response Prevention. We are working on preventing your response. When creating the ERP exercises, the NOCD app clearly walks you through the steps. Use it - because it works. First we list the obsessive thought, this is what happens when you get triggered. The upsetting, scary thoughts that cause distress. Listing the trigger is next, what set off these obsessive thoughts. A trigger can be anything - person, place, thing, real or imagined. The next step is listing the exposure. This part can confuse users. The exposure is the part of the exercise that you create to cause you to be triggered. This is different based on you creating a in-vivo - real life exercise or an imaginal exercise. Creating a script would be one example of the imaginal exercise. Try to think of specific triggers and that will make it easier to create the exposure. Lastly comes the compulsions. The compulsions are the thing you do not want to do! Try to stay with your obsessive thought - do not check in, not with yourself, not online, not by asking questions. Be careful not to ask yourself questions or anyone else that is reassurance seeking. Also, remember that distracting yourself from the thoughts or avoiding focusing on the thoughts is still a compulsion. Stay with your thought until your anxiety comes down and is at a manageable level. Practice this exercise multiple times until your distress level stays at a manageable level. If you do this, you have completed your ERP exercise successfully. Congratulations! Keep up the good work and practice, practice, practice! If you are struggling, get treatment with a trained ERP therapist. Wishing you good luck ?

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is one of the hardest but most effective treatments for OCD. If you’ve started ERP, what has been the biggest challenge in resisting compulsions?

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) isn't always easy, but as one of the most effective treatments for OCD, it's worth it. If you've started ERP, what has been the biggest surprise you've experienced in learning to resist compulsions? If you haven't started ERP yet, what is holding you back from starting?

I was just thinking about how OCD tries to be tricky and switches themes on us!! The amount of times I have said to myself in the past, IF ONLY I HAD THE OLDER THEME I USE TO WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE THIS NEW ONE IS SO MUCH WORSE!!! Has anyone ever experienced this before? Once I started ERP therapy, I began to really start understanding what mental/physical compulsions I was doing to really keep my OCD alive! While I did this, I would also tap into my self-compassion bucket, even when it felt like it was dry at times, because it was SO easy to judge myself for because of the sheer presence of my thoughts. I would also have the most self-compassion for myself for those taboo intrusive thoughts that really felt so strong, ego-dystonic and real!!! My OCD would hop around from theme to theme and just when I thought I figured it out (compulsion) it would hop again and make me discouraged! I noticed for me that once I really understood my compulsions, it didn't matter when the theme switched as I could tackle it at its core. If I was able to stay steadfast and resist compulsions the best I could, I started to notice that my CONFIDENCE increased in the long run! I also noticed that some of the core fears were the same for different OCD subtypes. OCD treatment is hard BUT living with OCD is harder. I have experienced subtypes including Harm OCD, ROCD, Moral Scrupulosity, Sensorimotor, Contamination, Perfectionism/Just Right, Hit and Run, Magical Thinking, Real Event/False Memory. ERP therapy allowed me to really work on stopping these compulsions and switching from theme to theme. I was fed up with what OCD took from me and I needed to do something about it. I talked to an ERP therapist and it was one of the best decisions of my life. If you are struggling, keep pushing and get the help you deserve!! You got this!!!