How can someone get their anxiety down enough to do exposures without medication? . . . There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to this, but therapists will often work with their clients to design exposures that are achievable before gradually ramping up the intensity. Exposures themselves actually increase anxiety before it decreases over time. But if someone is already so anxious that they can’t begin to do exposures, they may want to consider revising their treatment plan with their therapist (or starting to work with an OCD therapist if they haven’t already). Working with an OCD therapist can help you better understand the long-term benefits of facing your fears through systematic exposures. It will also provide added motivation to endure the increased anxiety that initially comes when you are actively resisting your compulsions.

Should I start therapy? What if I say something that they think is odd, strange, illegal, etc.? What if they tell me it is not OCD? These are just a small handful of the things that I have heard from people who are worried about starting therapy. And, it is unfortunate that these types of questions, and the fear of their answers, keep people suffering. If you have these questions, I want to know about them. I hope that you will gain some insight and inspiration to take that step and try out NOCD ERP for your OCD. So, let me hear from you and let's overcome these fears together. Ask me Anything in the comments below.

This is kind of a weird question, but I recently increased my SSRI dosage and have experienced tremendous relief. It has quieted my intrusive thoughts so much and my compulsions are no longer as all-consuming. However, I don’t want to be on this high of a dosage forever and know that medication alone shouldn’t be my only fix. I’m seeing a new psychiatrist on Wednesday and am wondering if the recent decrease in frequency of my symptoms will be a bar to my getting ocd treatment? In other words, if in this present moment I’m doing better, but up until a few days ago my compulsions were taking up pretty much every moment of my waking day, will I still be classified as having ocd? I start getting worried when I feel better that I don’t actually have ocd and just use it as a defense mechanism to avoid consequences of my actions/I’m secretly a terrible person

So I’ve been going to an ocd therapist for abt 2-3 months now and she’s starting to make me feel very nervous and anxious I even started crying, she wanted me to do exposures that were to much for me and I got rlly upset and Burt out into tears and she just didn’t say anything and just sat there for a good 10 seconds doing nothing this is starting to repeat nearly every session and I’m very frustrated should I get a new therapist or do I just be nice and tough it out?