Quite Unknown
- Date posted
- 5y
Fear Strikes OutFear Strikes...
- Date posted
- 5y
That's because most of those that have been successfully treated do not spend time on this message board. They are too busy enjoying more fulfilling lives. Would you hang around after getting better? A few might for a while, but most will not. By the way, I manage my OCD quite well after receiving intensive treatment about 4 years ago.
Evelyn4416Evelyn4416
- Date posted
- 5y
I can see this. On my better days I’m not usually on here as much compared to my bad days
ezeebucketezeebucket
- Date posted
- 5y
Hey! Just want to give my own experience here. I did six 1-hour sessions with a therapist and am doing so much better mentally. I still get intrusive thoughts here and there, but I am able to handle them much better. I even asked my therapist "is it normal to feel better already? Do I even have OCD???" and she said "Yes, ERP is evidence-based and proven to work" and that's why! You gotta put in the work though. For me, I know OCD will always be with me, but I've chosen to see it as a friend, not an enemy. My scores for depression and anxiety were previously severe, and have since gone to moderate and low. I hope my story helps you in some way.
Fear Strikes OutFear Strikes...
- Date posted
- 5y
That is fantastic to hear! Thanks for sharing.
Evelyn4416Evelyn4416
- Date posted
- 5y
That’s so awesome! Did you do just therapy or also medication too? Also how much ERP would you aim for per day?
ezeebucketezeebucket
- Date posted
- 5y
@Evelyn4416 Just therapy for now. My therapist and I do ERP during our sessions and throughout the week I work on mindfulness and accepting feelings. I would say do each ERP exercise 5 times between appts if you can!
Evelyn4416Evelyn4416
- Date posted
- 5y
@ezeebucket Okay cool! Sorry one more question: how do you go about accepting feelings? I’m currently struggling with this and would love to know the right way to go about this!
ezeebucketezeebucket
- Date posted
- 5y
@Evelyn4416 This is definitely one of the harder parts of recovery. Start off with practicing mindfulness. I never got into it before but after practicing it daily for about a week, I can't stop recommending it enough. Check out Sam Harris's or the Headspace app as a start, they have free sessions. This will help you get into the habit of sitting with your feelings and bodily discomfort and literally breathing through it. When doing ERP, you can utilize your mindfulness techniques to recognize the discomfort and wait for the anxiety, fear, etc. to dissipate. Something my therapist also told me is that OCD is our body's way of alerting us and keeping us alive. When we acknowledge this and let the feelings be present, the OCD realizes "Ok. Guess it's not a big deal." And that's why ERP works. Accepting the feelings changes the narrative to "I'M NOT" to "Maybe I am maybe I'm not, and that's okay." You learn to live with the uncertainty. We have thousands upon thousands of thoughts a day. Sorting those into if they're real or not would be stressful dont you think? Acknowledge the thought, let the feelings course through, and move on. You got this!
Fear Strikes OutFear Strikes...
- Date posted
- 5y
@ezeebucket Great post!
Quite UnknownQuite Unknown
- Date posted
- 5y
Well Iwould try to cheer up others enter tell them how I got over it. Where did you receive your treatment ?
Quite UnknownQuite Unknown
- Date posted
- 5y
enter=and
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