My dad knows I have been having a super hard time of it and am basically at my wits end with my ocd. He sent me this tonight. This is why no matter how much I want to give up, I never will: "Just wanted you to know that I am sitting here in the living room and am looking at that absolutely magnificent picture of you and me at the wedding. It is so beautiful! Honey, I want you to know that I am here for you and that I will fight hard for/with you to overcome our concern. We have to dig in and really battle this. I am right here with you. You can't give up; I will fight with you. It would kill me if you ever give up! We CAN'T GIVE UP! Remember, there is nothing we can do that can't be done I will take you ANYWHERE to get help. I love you and I need you. Always, Dad."

My family's support means the world to me. I dont feel like myself anymore because of my ocd so I constantly feel like I'm letting people down. This made me so emotional and reminded me of why I need to keep fighting this with everything I have.

@ans87 You are immensely blessed! What are your themes? How long have you had OCD? Ever seen an OCD therapist that is ERP trained?

@Fear Strikes Out Yes, blessed is the perfect word. My husband and my family are my everything and I need to fight this for them. I have severe contamination ocd that started about 3 years ago and has gotten progressively worse, especially in the last year or so. I have my first appointment with a NOCD therapist to start ERP a week from Tuesday and I'm hoping it helps. Have you done or are you going through ERP?

@ans87 Good to hear that you will be seeing an OCD therapist. Yes, I was in a treatment program 4 years ago and I made significant improvement while there. But, probably more importantly, I built a very strong ERP foundation that helped me to experience more and more success after I left treatment. For me, I was really motivated for treatment (sounds like you are as well), so the intensive program (30 hours per week for a month) was critical in my eventual success and recovery. So, please do not rule out something more intensive if you find yourself still struggling while seeing a therapist a couple of hours a week.

@ans87 I’m so happy to hear you are starting ERP and therapy! My OCD was terrible before I started and once ERP came into play it helped SO much. We still have our pleasant and unpleasant moments and there’s a lot of practice and training that goes into it, but I think once you get the hang of using your ERP tools and realizing “a thought is just a thought” then you’re set! Good luck with your recovery!

@Evelyn4416 Thank you so much for your kind words! This is very encouraging to hear! I'm happy that ERP has helped you make progress against your ocd!

@ans87 Yes of course! ERP has a very high success rate and while it might be scary and anxiety-inducing in the beginning, you’ll start to see amazing progress. An example I had was that I used to have harm intrusive thoughts involving my cat, so I started ERP focused on that issue. Now I don’t even think about it :) it works!

That's awesome! It helps when you know you have people who are in your corner no matter what. I am so lucky in that regard. Thanks for the kind words!

Thank you ❤ I am so blessed that I have such a fantastic support system. I would probably honestly just throw in the towel if it wasnt for them. It's so easy to lose sight of things like this when you're in a constant battle with your own brain. This made me realize that I can never stop trying.

Thank you so much for your support ❤

Thank you for your support!