Hey nOCD Fam! Opening up a Q+A session all day today if you have any questions on OCD Recovery and what life is like in recovery with OCD still there but maintained, if you are a skeptic if it because you are suffering so much, how ERP worked for me, anything. Love chatting with you guys, thanks for letting me lend a hand!

Such a great question! I think this often gets overlooked and is so essential in recovery. Here’s the thing - you’re going to live with OCD forever - it won’t always be intense, there will be periods you forget you have it, and there are periods where you are so strong for months to a year at a time and then get hit with anxiety or a new life change and notice you’ve subconsciously started to perform some protective compulsions. Many times people freak out at this point like “oh no my ocd is back full force all that work for nothing.” Not the case at all. Every single hour of every day you have opportunities to move forward. You physically can’t go backward. You’ll have skip ups, weak days, weak weeks and it’s normal to get down on yourself during these times. Keep in mind you’ll never be perfect, and expect and accept the mentality that this is a lifestyle and that you work towards it all the time. It’s a good thing to initially be hard on yourself because it shows you know what you’re doing is wrong in terms of getting better with ocd so you’re already a step ahead. Recognize your compulsions when you make them - don’t bag on yourself - accept it and know in your heart you’ll do better next time or you can go out of your way to expose another thing on purpose to sort of feel like you recognized you slipped but you’re still willing to put in the work. Does that make sense? Also - if you are doing any sort of ERP, or using tools your OCD therapist has taught you or you’ve learned before, just merely trying to get to recovery every day IS recovery in itself. It’s not stagnant, but ebbs and flows and that’s okay as long as you recognize that!

@NOCD Advocate - Kerry Osborn Thank you so much for the answer. I've only done ERP for past contamination-related obsessions/compulsions with one of my old OCD therapists, but I'm planning on dIscussing my relationship and sexual orientation-related obsessions/compulsions with my new one this week. I desperately want to get better for my partner.

@Anonymous This sounds great - definitely bring this up as a forefront with your new OCD Therapist. You’ve got this I believe in you 100%

Hi!! Okay thanks for sharing all that because there are SO many people who honestly feel the same way. Sexual OCD is extremely difficult to navigate - I completely understand. It will make you feel like you are not the person you wish to be. OCD is known to target our personal morals and values because obviously those are the things that matter most to us I.e. relationships etc., and it can absolutely destroy them I’ve experienced this myself. And looking back, seeing how I ALLOWED OCD to be a third member of my relationship, makes me sick. So here’s the thing - I know this situation you described sounds so complex and like it will never get better but my friend it doesn’t matter what theme, subtype or fear focused OCD you have when it comes to ERP. It works with everyone if you know what you’re doing. To know what you’re doing - you have to talk to an OCD specialist. They are qualified and make you understand this so much more in depth and will Allieviate so much of this pain and confusion. Thinking, dwelling and talking around and around trying to pinpoint it like you have in your question (which I know you may not know better) is a never ending cycle and you will never get your answers by just trying to solve it in your brain or by talking to others to get reassurance even if you don’t intend to. What I do know is the question does not come down to how you get your normal self back and feel a certain way again - the question is “how do I get my sexual themed OCD under control for the long term so I can enjoy my life again.” Can you tell me about your experiences with talking to an OCD Therapist?

@NOCD Advocate - Kerry Osborn Thank you so much for your detailed response. Its nice to know that what I'm experiencing is normal I have seen two cbt therapists and they said that I just need to accept the thoughts. Didn't necessarily make an erp scale.

@Summer98 Also I'm from the UK

Hey ?? so where to go from here is pretty straightforward as I see it. You need to get a proper diagnostic evaluation where you can confirm the diagnosis, themes and subtypes. You can easily do this in your first 90 minute session with a nOCD therapist (for only $50!!!!) Talking about this and really trying to figure it out and going around and around only makes you sink deeper into OCD sinking sand. I promise you this. Will you allow yourself to start by getting a proper diagnosis?

@NOCD Advocate - Kerry Osborn I don’t live in us and haven’t told my family and have no money so that’s not possible ?

@NOCD Advocate - Kerry Osborn The prices are now $123 per session, $50 dollar promotional just ended. Just got off the call today with them

So ERP isn’t just about facing the individual fears - by facing them, you will start to see how OCD works and deceives you no matter what it’s about. OCD is a life long disorder and you will always have times in your life where you may get hit out of nowhere and need to really dig into your OCD toolbox. But the issue is never what the new obsession is about because it doesn’t matter - ERP tactics once you really learn how it works can take care of any obsession, ever. I believe that. Once you really lean in with ERP and start to break the foundation of OCD, you will learn the process and how your anxiety spikes and ALWAYS comes back down. No matter the thought. So overtime, it becomes your choice whether you’re going to allow it to become just as “severe” or if you’re going to bust out your armor and know exactly how to handle the situation. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but we do in fact have control over these thoughts and how badly they can affect us. We can’t stop the thoughts, but the way we get better is truly changing and turning the tables on HOW we react to them.

@NOCD Advocate - Kerry Osborn Thank you Kerry!

Understand this will always be part of the process and be okay with that. You will always have times in life with Or without OCD where you come off the rails and feel bad again. Recognize that and just get back up and keep trying even if it feels off and you feel awful. There is no failing with OCD Recovery, there is only moving forward and you need to build the confidence that you have the power to gain this confidence over time and not be so hard on yourself.

Thanks for being so upfront and writing this out. That’s a good step forward of which many people cannot do. This is something to work with an OCD therapist on actively working up to having children. One of the things you can do is accept these thoughts and fears of the unknown because that’s you’re only real choice to live a more peaceful life. OCD robs our lives of many, many things in this quality of life - do everything in your power to not let it rob you of having children.

@NOCD Advocate - Kerry Osborn Yeah, I’ve talked with my psychologist about my goals for the future so that’s a good first step. I’ll do everything I can to live the life I want despite ocd. Thank you for taking the time to reply ❤️

@199903 Absolutely. Honored to know you!