I have a serious question. So when it comes to OCD, do you say ANYTHING POSITIVE to yourself to recover? Literally ANYTHING that you think makes you feel better? Examples include praying, positive affirmations like I can do this, I won’t focus on those thoughts etc, distractions like exercise, feeling your senses, escaping by watching videos or games, even meditation? Are ALL of these a form of reassurance? Because that’s what my therapist just told me. If so I’ve been lied to my whole life.

It sounds like you've already identified the answer to the question you're asking: you use them to alleviate your distress. Try doing some of them at times when you're not in distress- because frankly they can help you get on top of your general anxiety levels, which reduces the incidence of intrusive thoughts. Less anxiety can get you to develop more of a sense of a space between thought/feeling and reaction where you can choose your response, and stop doing compulsions in response and choose to use it as an opportunity to do ERP instead. Prayer, exercise, meditation, grounding in your senses mindfully etc... They all make you live 'in the moment' more and reduce your anxiety. They're good to build up as daily habits. Even escapism has its place in healthy doses at appropriate times when it's not as a distraction from pain or in a way that is detrimental to the rest of your life. They're worth trying out.

@Louw Thank you for the response, I will try this. Wait I have another question if you want to answer; my friend also happens to have ocd, and I told her I gave her forms of positive affirmations in the past when she was distressed by saying things like “itll be ok” and “you can get through this.” Would those be bad things? If so am I supposed to be harsh to her? It just doesn’t seem right.

@qk It can be a fine line between being supportive and enabling someone to reassure their anxiety rather than feeling it, so that's a tricky one. Use your best judgment and be sure not to give reassurance about the actual content of her worry, or to tell her "it's just OCD, it's not real". Those are both bad things to do. But no, no need to be harsh to her or negative, you're allowed to be there for her. Try to encourage her to stay with the feelings which are caused by the idea that her worry might be true. Feelings don't last forever and she can survive her anxiety. If she keeps trying to escape it, she won't get on top of it.