I need some help. I finished therapy not too long ago, exhausted every ERP exercise me and my therapist could think of and I still feel like shit. I feel like a fucking freak. My therapist said that usually after therapy OCD just won't be there for a long time and it's still here. Infact it feels like I'm slowly regressing. Is this normal? I need to talk to people who have finished OCD therapy. I had therapy for 6 months with some of the most gruesome exercises. I don't have money for more therapy, I don't want to get on meds and I just want to be OK. I've been accused of being my worst fear on this app like 4 times so be really careful with what you comment, please.

Standard procedure. Hierarchy based on how stressful it is, always did an exercise for 2 weeks then moved on when I felt ready. Resisted compulsions. Did the maybe/maybes. Every time I have a bad OCD day and my symptoms are flaring up I tend to do my most stressful and final exercise for a good chunk of time, because it's the one that has consistantly done wonders for me even though it's GOD awful and made me break down TWICE. (it's holding in an image of whatever your obsession is based on and holding it in your mind for a good chunk of time and thinking "maybe im into this, maybe I'm not"). I don't know if I've been overusing it or where I'm going wrong but old symptoms started popping up and shit like false attractions which during my last weeks of therapy I legitimately did not have any, now came back stronger than before. It doesn't feel like I've fully relapsed, I mean I spent the whole day playing video games, repotting my plants and dancing with my little sister (who has been an ENORMOUS TRIGGER ever since my OCD came to be a year ago) and like a lot of things are still improved but some things just spook me.(This is going to get kinda graphic and I do apologize but I wanna be completely blunt about these things so you get the full picture) Like during the ERP I did 2 days ago, I was doing it as I was laying in bed and I got a groinal response that felt like it was going to turn into a full on erection. I continued with ERP even though that gave me extreme anxiety and by the end of the exercise I was flacid, but that really triggered me a LOT and I felt like a genuine freak throughout the following days. I managed to not ask for reassurance and tried to respond as theraputically as I could and I'm aware that groinal responses can go from tingling sensations to literal stress-induced orgasms (I've been a victim to those. Still traumatized with unfixable self-esteem after that.) but for some reason it just really got to me. I really don't wanna have to do anything more than I already have. I'm mentally exhausted. I hope I'm just having an unlucky time more than anything. Hope this gives you a good idea.

Not really. We kinda just hoped I'd be ok because that's all we could do really.

@Vimli I'm about to head to bed, but wanted to pass on this article for now. https://iocdf.org/expert-opinions/expert-opinion-relapse-prevention/