- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
OCD is wickedly clever. It will look for the smallest window or crack to find a way into your thoughts. It also makes you question whether youāre getting better and if you will ever be free. As soon as you make progress in one area, it finds another to make you obsess about. It does whatever it has to keep your mind in chains. Thatās why itās so important to acknowledge even the smallest progresses you make. āThoughts donāt stay as long as they used to but...ā No buts! The fact that you can resist a compulsion and the obsession goes away in shorter time, even if it doesnāt feel like much, is a success and improvement. Whether itās getting physically or mentally healthy, the people who are doing the work often have the hardest time recognizing progress. I know itās agonizing and frustrating to feel like youāve been doing the work but still struggling. I had been doing well during my treatment, finally felt like I had my life back, and then bam! Something happened that made me feel like I was back at square one. But, although it was a challenge, I realized that it wasnāt as devastating as my mind made it out to be, and Iāve come through better than before. My advice: 1. Be kind to yourself 2. Recognize and celebrate even the little successes 3. Accept that OCD will do whatever it can to make you ignore tips 1 and 2.
- Date posted
- 5y
Handling the thoughts well 65% of the time after just 5 weeks indicates very good progress. When I was where you are, I tried to avoid the black-and-white mindset in which I judged treatment success more by how many times I did not successfully manage an intrusive thought than did manage it well. I think you are on the right track. You are still on that upward climb in the process. But, you will reach the mountain's apex and the downward side will provide you with the momentum to take on the OCD on your terms. These ten weeks are teaching you how to confront the OCD bully. It takes practice. After the 10 weeks, you will continue to use the tools you have learned and become more and more proficient as the weeks and months pass. Keep up the good work!
- Date posted
- 5y
Are you recovered?
- Date posted
- 5y
@Diego?? I describe my current state as managing my OCD well. Not trying to split hairs, but I do not want to suggest that I am cured from OCD.
- Date posted
- 5y
@Fear Strikes Out Oh that's great, Congrats!
- Date posted
- 5y
I would say that I went so bad in January until May I couldnāt go out of my house, take metro, go grocery store... Now Iām going to my appointments to my therapist on my own and Iām able to go shopping on my own. So it is improving definitely :)) Happy to hear Iām on the right path !
- Date posted
- 5y
That's great to hear that you are making such great strides as you have described. ?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w
Hi! I've been on my OCD healing journey for about half a year and I have seen a lot of success. I'm reaching out for advice, I am very willing to do exposures because I know the more I do them, the more I get better, but I struggle with the response prevention part. I don't know how to control my brain when it comes to facing the fears especially since most of my compulsions are mental. I can tell myself the typical things "I am okay with the uncertainty of this happening", etc. but its like my brain doesn't believe them. I've been stuck in this disconnect for a while and would love advice you have heard from a therapist or learned that has really help you.
- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 21w
I was just thinking about how OCD tries to be tricky and switches themes on us!! The amount of times I have said to myself in the past, IF ONLY I HAD THE OLDER THEME I USE TO WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE THIS NEW ONE IS SO MUCH WORSE!!! Has anyone ever experienced this before? Once I started ERP therapy, I began to really start understanding what mental/physical compulsions I was doing to really keep my OCD alive! While I did this, I would also tap into my self-compassion bucket, even when it felt like it was dry at times, because it was SO easy to judge myself for because of the sheer presence of my thoughts. I would also have the most self-compassion for myself for those taboo intrusive thoughts that really felt so strong, ego-dystonic and real!!! My OCD would hop around from theme to theme and just when I thought I figured it out (compulsion) it would hop again and make me discouraged! I noticed for me that once I really understood my compulsions, it didn't matter when the theme switched as I could tackle it at its core. If I was able to stay steadfast and resist compulsions the best I could, I started to notice that my CONFIDENCE increased in the long run! I also noticed that some of the core fears were the same for different OCD subtypes. OCD treatment is hard BUT living with OCD is harder. I have experienced subtypes including Harm OCD, ROCD, Moral Scrupulosity, Sensorimotor, Contamination, Perfectionism/Just Right, Hit and Run, Magical Thinking, Real Event/False Memory. ERP therapy allowed me to really work on stopping these compulsions and switching from theme to theme. I was fed up with what OCD took from me and I needed to do something about it. I talked to an ERP therapist and it was one of the best decisions of my life. If you are struggling, keep pushing and get the help you deserve!! You got this!!!
- Date posted
- 15w
I'm struggling with a lot of doubts today, but trying the best I can to keep on living my life š„² I'm on 150mg of Sertraline right now, and honestly, I'm feeling a lot better than before. Do I still get triggered? Yes! But I'm handling it easier. The only issue is, I feel like I'm obsessing over recovering? Not if I'm doing it "right," but more so getting to a point where I feel "perfect." That's not possible, I know. Even before OCD spiraled out of control, I struggled with other issues on a daily basis. But life felt simpler back then, and I didn't have this magical (and annoying) ability to remember every single bad thing that's ever happened to me or every single intrusive thought I've ever had in extreme detail š Whenever I'm feeling okay, I can not help but think, "Remember how bad it was (insert time-frame)?" And then my mind zip zaps through every instance I've ever felt anxiety, like...? I don't even know if it's me doing this or if its OCD, but it frustrates me so, so much when it happens. Anyway, that's all for now... If anyone can relate, we're in this together š¤ Hang in there!
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