Fear Strikes Out
- Date posted
- 5y
AlyoshaAlyosha
- Date posted
- 5y
I enjoy the cumulative effect, working toward a goal, the sense of freedom. I don’t like the ripping-off-a-bandaid feel that happens several times a day. I would have thought after years of resisting to check locks multiple times that the feeling would have gone away. It hasn’t. It still pings all the time. I still have to put effort into resisting. It can be hard to accept that 1) maybe the anxiety over a obsession never really leaves and 2) that I shouldn’t read into its continued existence. Despite ERP, my anxiety over a particular religious obsession lingered for years. Someone else with OCD said “Mayne that means it wasn’t OCD.” That has haunted me. I still don’t know what to think about it. That obsession doesn’t bother me anymore.
199903199903
- Date posted
- 5y
Maybe it was OCD, maybe it wasn’t. Whatever the answer is, we can continue anyway. Be proud of your progress! You’re doing amazing
Evelyn4416Evelyn4416
- Date posted
- 5y
This is a very interesting question! I enjoy knowing that this is the best method of therapy for combating OCD. I enjoy seeing the results of my work as I record my exercises in my ERP notebook. I enjoy coming up with new exercises to combat different themes coming up, plus discussing this with my therapist to make sure I’m on the right track. What I don’t enjoy very much is actually sitting down and getting to work on a new exercise or a particular one where I don’t really want to do it for a variety of reasons. However once I do it and finish, I feel good that I was brave enough to get it done
ShiningBrightShiningBright
- Date posted
- 5y
I didn’t enjoy the discomfort but you have to go through discomfort to get better . I enjoyed being assertive and willing to be better cuz the more ERP the more optimistic I became about life moving forward .
MM
- Date posted
- 5y
I feel like I've missed something and could've done better, but I enjoy the extra time that I have due to less time checking!
hrosehrose
- Date posted
- 5y
I enjoy the freedom I feel afterwards. However a lot of the erp I’ve been doing has been every exhausting so I don’t like that part where I feel so fatigued.
Aisha22Aisha22
- Date posted
- 5y
I feel like when I’m done I don’t know how I’m suppose to feel
Fear Strikes OutFear Strikes...
- Date posted
- 5y
You might experience a little loss from not needing to do as many of the compulsions that you once did. Just fill that time with something you enjoy doing. You will quickly lose having that feeling.
Related posts
hbocd
- Date posted
- 24w
ERP Therapy
I read about ERP and have seen information about it on here. One of the goals is to say, "maybe I am this or that...ect." That terrified me. The thoughts and images that go in my head are disturbing and upsetting. I don't want to even think about saying, "maybe this or that." It's devasting to have these thoughts and question why you're having these thoughts. Doesn't the "maybe" make it worse? The one thing that helps me is that is to remind myself that these are just thoughts and I know I'm not a monster, even if I feel like one. Is ERP not for everyone? Has anyone else had a problem with the techniques used in this kind of therapy? I had cognitive therapy for years with an OCD specialist and that seemed to help a lot. Writing out the worst case scenarios would make me suicidal. Im having a difficult time not obsessing over the "maybe" after intrusive thoughts now. It doesn't make it better.
Hobbit
- Date posted
- 23w
Not making ERP a compulsion?
Anyone have any tips on not making ERP a compulsion? I find myself sometimes wanting to do exposures in order to make myself feel better (feel my anxiety go down and feel relief). 😅
Anonymous
- Date posted
- 23w
Compulsions during exposure sessions
When I catch myself doing compulsions mentally during exposure sessions, it seems alot of the time like the realization that I was just doing a compulsion is more distressing than the actual trigger I'm trying to expose myself to. It feels defeating having to admit the prompt at the end that I performed a compulsion yet again. I still think I've made progress overall, and generally speaking I don't think I'm performing compulsions as much as I used to, and my distress has also gone down noticeably (not completely) but exposure sessions have been kinda tricky for me from the beginning since its all mental. Additionally, I am a bit concerned that I could start using exposures to rid myself of anxiety rather than expose myself to it properly.
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