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- 4y ago
This sounds like terrible advice for OCD. Is this person actually trained to treat OCD?
i dont think theyre specifically for OCD
@Duck I'm sure someone else with more expertise will chime in soon, but in my opinion your therapist seems well intentioned but is actually giving very bad advice.
Yes, I had an ocd therapist have me do this for a few sessions and for me it was very effective but it may not be that way for others.
For me, when I did that, it became a compulsion of reassurance and it didn't help me get over the fear. How do you see this yourself, how do you react to it? For me, the rationality comes after I've done some extensive ERP, since the ERP makes my own brain come down from the anxiety, instead of listening to others' logical opinions etc, it's my own opinion that comes to the surface once I'm more logical and less emotional.
for me i feel like i do mental compulsions a lot, such as trying to fight the thought. i feel like this is fighting the thought but just on paper
@Duck It was the same for me, I was fighting the thought with logic to try and not feel uncomfortable and stressed and guilty etc. So I labeled it a mental compulsion.
Agreed that something I naturally did to combat OCD is very similar to this, but that for some people it might be difficult or worsen OCD, but maybe while working with a therapist is the time to try it to find out. Good luck!
This does not sound like good advice. I had a therapist who did not specifically specialize in OCD, and she told me to write the intrusive thought and then rationalize it by explaining why it is true. This did not help at all, though I did it for almost a year. in fact it probably kept the ocd obsessions alive by giving reassurance. Please seek out a therapist who actually specializes in OCD, using ERP, if this technique doesn’t seem to be changing anything. ❤️
*by explaining why it is not true
So I’m starting therapy this week but I’ve been trying to use ERP myself, my main compulsion is rumination which I wasn’t even aware was a compulsion. I’m trying to do ERP but when I focus on observing the thought it goes, I dunno if I’m focusing too much on actually how to follow ERP or is this normal? I feel like I might be subconsciously blocking thoughts because I know how bad it is when I go down the rabbit hole, but then I also worry that the anxiety goes too quickly and that I’m finding it too easy to ignore the thought?
I am feeling conflicted when it comes to treatment and would like some advice. I suffer from Pure O, and all of my compulsions are in the form of rumination. If my therapist tells me to ‘lean in’ to the thoughts and even dissect and think about that thought/worry more - is this not akin to telling someone with contamination OCD to mindfully wash their hands? The initial microsecond thought is the normal human thoughts everyone gets - that’s normal and can’t be stopped, the rabbit hole ruminating that follows is technically analytical thinking therefor it should be able to be stopped. Does this resonate with anyone and has anyone experienced similar? I’m definitely experiencing some OCD around treatment and my therapist (am I doing this right etc) but I also feel my question is valid and I want to ensure I am following the right treatment path. Thank you!
One for the therapists or those that have done ERP or followed some of the advice on here.... If the best way to deal with the intrusive thought is to not give it certainty and to say "that might happen, who knows?" then surely you're fuelling the thought which is going to heighten anxiety levels? For example if you have POCD and have a thought such as "What if I think sexual thoughts about that child?" and you sit with the thought saying to yourself "I might do, I might not" surely that's going to make you ruminate on it and we're told rumination is wrong. Or another example "I'm going to hurt myself later" and then thinking "maybe I will, I don't know" you're just going to make yourself worse? If there's a chance that thought is gonna come true it's make you feel worse surely? Please tell me if I'm wrong and I've got the wrong end of the stick here but it's been playing on my mind. Surely it's better to ignore the thought the entirely or just observe it as if to say haha yeah OK keep trying to tell me that, that's ridiculous. Advice and thoughts appreciated.
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