- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
How does ERP help when you’re in the middle of a bad distressing thought?
- Date posted
- 6y
What exactly is ERP?
- Date posted
- 6y
@Trinity basically, ERP (or Exposure Response Prevention if you want to get ~fancy~) is currently one of the most common methods used to treat OCD, and help people go into remission. You can’t “cure” OCD exactly, but you can recover, which means you can have periods where you don’t have it. Some people go into remission and don’t really come out of it, some need a few more tries, but I digress ? ERP involves exposing yourself to your fear on purpose, and resisting your compulsions for longer periods of time. I’ll use handwashing as an example since EVERYBODY’S familiar with handwashing pretty much. If you had contamination OCD from say, fear of touching a toilet seat, you might have a compulsion to wash your hands. I know, I know, EVERYONE wants to wash their hands after touching a toilet seat, but a “normal” person might only do it once, whereas someone with OCD might do it many times, to achieve a certain number or so it feels right, etc. Their exposure would then be to touch the toilet seat and then only wash their hands once, or maybe not at all depending on situation, therapist, distress level, etc. Gradually they’ll become less and less afraid, and the best possible scenario would be that they can eventually wash their hands once, like a “normal” person or whatever word you want to use, and then move onto other things with no distress or obsessive behaviour. :)
- Date posted
- 6y
@RosyRainbows I like that question! Basically, it does help, but it also sort of doesn’t. ERP is more of a long term solution than a quick fix. However, if you are in the middle of a bad distressing thought, you might find that accepting the thought and resisting the compulsions causes your anxiety to go down after a long period of time. But yeah, pushing through the anxiety is the really hard part.
- Date posted
- 6y
I’m not strong enough to resist my compulsions :(
- Date posted
- 6y
@Sof you don’t have to cut them out forever if you don’t feel strong enough. Start with 10 seconds, then gradually work your way up
- Date posted
- 6y
@KatieKAT that’s up to you. Maybe start with 5 minutes twice a day and work your way up
- Date posted
- 6y
@lavenden Your intention is not actually to harm the baby, you’re just worried you might. Yes, you need to feed your baby, even you’re worried it might hurt your child. That’s exposure.
- Date posted
- 6y
@KatieKAT couldn’t have said it better (literally ? that was a tough one)
- Date posted
- 6y
@Talie I like to think I’m on the way to remission. If I could put a number on my recovery I’d say I’m like 75% better than I was when I first developed it. Recovery isn’t linear and it’ll take a loooong time, but eh. I’ve got PLENTY of time. My goal is to get maybe...95% back to where I used to be. ERP is the best thing I’ve had work for me so far ?
- Date posted
- 6y
@Sof I used to feel that way too! Maybe you’re jumping right into it too quickly? Can I ask what your themes and compulsions are?
- Date posted
- 6y
It’s mostly touching things, checking (mentally and physically). Lately I’ve also been saying things, my mind thinks of saying “hello” or something and I have to say it
- Date posted
- 6y
@TabbyKitty, how long do you or your previous therapist recommend listening to loop recordings for imaginary exposure per day, when starting ERP?
- Date posted
- 6y
@Lavenden thats a tough one, I like it! I guess it depends on the theme. If you have harm OCD, writing about hurting someone to purposely generate anxiety is an exposure. Picking up a knife and hurting somebody however, is acting on the thoughts.
- Date posted
- 6y
@Lavenden really hitting me with the hard questions here! I mean, the idea is to carry on normally despite OCD, so I think so.
- Date posted
- 6y
Can you please help me with my fear..I have a few but my main one ATM is that I might hear voices and I can’t think how best to do ERP with it. I’m in therapy and my Psychologist says to just make a loop of me saying “ I might hear voices” and flood myself with listening to it. It’s not working and today I’ve had that fear for three hours today even though I’ve not engaged or ruminated, it’s soul destroying. Xxx
- Date posted
- 6y
@Talie how do you mean hear voices if you don’t mind me asking? Voices in your head, or outside of it?
- Date posted
- 6y
Yes a fear of becoming schizophrenic, so a fear of hearing voices in my head. It’s so distressing to have this fear and I’d like to do some exposure around it. Any idea please?
- Date posted
- 6y
@Talie okay! Focus around the idea of becoming schizophrenic. “I might become schizophrenic” or something like that, write it out a lot of times until you get less afraid. Hope I helped :)
- Date posted
- 6y
Thanks, does this work? I’ve made a loop of me saying it on my voice notes and keep listening to it. Any other ideas please? I’ll try that one! Has ERP helped you then? Would you say you’re in remission? X
- Date posted
- 6y
I’m so happy for you! Long may it last for you that’s amazing:))) X yr so right it is linear and riding the waves. I still panic when I get a tough wave as if it will last forever! And that is despite having this condition for 27 years ( quite a few of those good with some bad) x
Related posts
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 24w
I used to get caught in a loop with existential thoughts very frequently. Every question made my stomach drop: (TW: existential questions) … … ... "Why does anything exist at all? What will death be like? Is anything even real? Is there any meaning to this? Is the universe infinitely big, and if not, what's beyond it? Are there multiverses? Has the universe been around forever? Will the universe end for good, or will it keep going forever? What is forever like? What even IS reality?" It would get so overwhelming that I remember lying on the floor in a fetal position for hours because I felt like there was no escape. I spent most of my days reading articles and watching videos about theoretical astrophysics and philosophy in a desperate attempt to "figure it all out." Of course that only made me more anxious, raised more questions, and kept me trapped in the cycle. Things started to improve once I learned to turn TOWARD reality, rather than away from it, and ERP really helped me do that. I learned that these questions weren't the problem. I learned that I can actually handle the anxiety that arises when exposed to these ideas and concepts. I don't have to figure anything out to make the anxiety go away; it arises and passes away on its own. Ironically, bringing myself into the present moment and becoming more aware of reality helped me escape the cycle of existential dread. Because of that, this topic no longer takes over my life. If I'm triggered by something I see, hear, or think, I may still feel a little twang of anxiety, but then it just goes away. "Maybe, maybe not" has been the single most useful phrase of my life. Do you ever get trapped in a cycle of existential questions? Are you worried that the ERP approach would be too scary to handle? If so, I'm happy to give my advice.
- Date posted
- 16w
I had just posted a summary of ERP for a group member, and I thought it might be useful for everybody. Here it is below (with a little extra added)…. ERP therapy is researched-based. Most other therapies don’t work. There have been people who have been literally stuck in their houses (from their OCD) who gained their lives back through ERP therapy. NOCD does ERP therapy exclusively. You can find it in other places too, but you have to ask around. There are two tenants of ERP therapy: The first one has to do with the repetitive thoughts inside our heads. These thoughts are actually defined as “obsessions”. You are not supposed to do anything with the obsessions. You are supposed to let them run through your head freely, without trying to fix them or stop them. Imagine a tree planted by a river. The leaves fall off and float down the river. You can see the leaves falling, but you don’t try to stop them or pick them up. You don’t try to fix them. You just let them float away. This is really important to do with your obsessive thoughts. The more you try to fight them off, the worse they get. I used to have blasphemous sentences running in my head 24/7. I felt like I had to put a “not” next to each sentence in order to “fix” it. But this just took hours of my time every day, and it was very scary, because I was worried that if I messed up, that I would go to hell. It was very freeing to learn later that I could just let those sentences run freely through my head without trying to fix them. The second part of ERP therapy is all about “denying your compulsions.” Every time OCD tells you that if you don’t do things a certain way that something really bad will happen, that is a compulsion. Once you recognize what your compulsions are, ERP therapy will have you practice stopping doing all of those things. For some people, that will mean stopping washing their hands or touching lights switches or, in my case, putting “fixing” words in their head. Compulsions are safety behaviors. During ERP therapy, you will practice stopping engaging with safety behaviors. All this is very hard to do and scary, so during therapy you will be given tools to help you deal with the fear. Often ERP therapy will take people from being non-functional to functional. I highly recommend it. ————————————————- PITFALL #1: After you have been doing ERP for a while and become somewhat successful, the OCD will try subtle little tricks to bring you down again. The first one is to tell you that your thoughts are REAL and not OCD, and therefore you can’t apply ERP therapy. Don’t fall for this trick! All thoughts are just thoughts. They are all meaningless. Don’t try to figure out what is real and what is OCD. Just treat all thoughts with ERP therapy. PITFALL #2: The second pitfall is that OCD will tell you that you can’t move forward unless you have absolute certainty that you will be safe. Hate to tell you this, folks, but there is no certainty in life. You will never know for SURE that you or your loved ones will be “safe” from the OCD rules. Therefore, you have to move forward in the uncertainty. It’s hard, but it gets easier with time and practice. We got this, guys !!!!!!
- Date posted
- 15w
I haven’t done a Q&A in over a year (my bad) but I used to do these at least once a month. Work is slow today, so please send me any questions you have about OCD and I’ll answer them as best as I can. A little about me: I’ve been subclinical/recovered for going on 5 years and I’ve been on this app volunteering since 2019 in an unofficial capacity—I’m not connected to the NOCD team, so I don’t have any badges. I did ERP treatment with my therapist in-person while I was also being treated for PTSD. I have OCD, PTSD, ADHD, depression, GAD, social anxiety, driving anxiety, and a few speech impediments.
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