- Username
- Fear Strikes Out
- Date posted
- 4y ago
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.
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
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
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 .
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!
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.
I feel like when I’m done I don’t know how I’m suppose to feel
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.
I’d love to talk to people about their experiences with ERP! I just started last week (imaginal exposure in session) and I kind of feel alone in this. Is there anyone else doing ERP in therapy as well? How is it working for you? Thank you ?
Has anyone here recently had ERP therapy, and, if so, what was your overall experience with it? Did your symptoms improve and by how much? Thanks
The intention of Exposure and Response Prevention therapy is NOT to get rid of the thoughts so that you can live the life you want. It is to live the life you want WITH the thoughts. I would love to hear about what you are doing to live your best life, even though your OCD thoughts are present!
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