- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
This sounds like terrible advice for OCD. Is this person actually trained to treat OCD?
- Date posted
- 5y
i dont think theyre specifically for OCD
- Date posted
- 5y
@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.
- Date posted
- 5y
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.
- Date posted
- 5y
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.
- Date posted
- 5y
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
- Date posted
- 5y
@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.
- Date posted
- 5y
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!
- Date posted
- 5y
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. ❤️
- Date posted
- 5y
*by explaining why it is not true
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
My NOCD therapist (who has been awesome) and I are both struggling to identify ways in which I can practice exposure therapy while in-session, because the vast majority of my OCD symptoms are mental compulsions. For example: indecision and inability to commit to a choice; seeking reassurance on decisions from friends and family; mental review of things that have just happened / social situations; over-thinking and catastrophizing. I also have some other hallmark symptoms (contamination fears, moral scrupulosity, etc) but those tend to be inconsistent too. It’s hard to really practice these during my sessions because so many are in the moment and fleeting. By the time I join my session they are no longer active. How can we establish exposure responses during my sessions, if most of my OCD involves mental rumination and overthinking patterns/thought loops that only occur “in the moments - rather than specific or consistent compulsions (such as hand washing)?
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 21w
I find while doing exposures, rarely does my anxiety lessen. It usually amps up and stays that way for the remainder of the day. I could be having a fairly decent day, but dutifully do my exposures and then the rest of my day is anxiety filled. I guess that’s just how it is now? Also, I’m wondering if my therapist even believes I have OCD. I totally understand my therapist cannot provide reassurance. But it’s to the point it seems my therapist acts like I actually did the thing I fear. I feel so isolated.
- Date posted
- 20w
So, my brain brought up a question that really affected my worldview. I solved the obsession, and gained some good wisdom on that could be useful towards unconditional loving self acceptance. Maybe I was being OCD about recovery, and tried to find logical reasons for why progress is important no matter the outcome when I should've just embraced uncertainty. So now I have an answer to the Obsession. But this obsession took me to a pretty dark place. And I know OCD is just gonna throw and equally Bad one at me if I use this information to my benefit because it will essentially be reinforcing the OCD cycle. "Oh, he got the solution he needed to now I need to throw a new obsession at his way." So what do I do with the wisdom I gained from ruminating here? It's useful and practical information, so I don't want to throw it out. But I can't reinforce the ocd cycle.
Be a part of the largest OCD Community
Share your thoughts so the Community can respond