Curious as to what people's thoughts are about high end exposures, doing things that would make anyone uncomfortable/anxious if they participated in them on a daily basis. Some examples might be jumping in a dumpster, licking a dumpster, licking a toilet seat, eating from a toilet seat, putting hand in toilet, etc. It doesn't just have to be contamination. It's confusing to me because if we're supposed to be overcorrecting and habituating to these things, how are supposed to get back to going out own direction, choosing what we decide to do? I get really lost with this tool. Have you found it to be helpful for you?

obviously impossible**

Yeah, it is odd. I hear a lot that the content of your obsessions & compulsions doesn't matter. But, if that's the case, what's the point of extreme like exposures. It's almost like you're digging into content at that point. I see how doing something really uncomfortable could help aid to put you in the middle ground, also though, like how often am I supposed to stay in the higher end of things. Its interesting.

@canigetawitness That's a good question. I've tried to do one exposure a day. Today I had to go to the hospital and I knew that would be my one (a HUGE one) and it was a lot. I spent much of the day after it exhausted in bed after a full decontamination session and running my brain like a hamster wheel. It got me thinking like...how many exposures should I do in a day and what's too much? Like obviously the hospital was too much (albeit necessary) but what's the sweet spot? How do I know if I'm going too easy on myself and when I should increase? I'm also terrible at knowing what's too much.

@canigetawitness the point of extreme exposures is to learn you can handle extreme distress. In fact, the point of ALL exposures is to learn to handle distress. The exposure task is just a means to that end

:) you did a nice job explaining peices of what we talked at before. It's clear that you're learning and taking action. Can we review the OCD cycle as it applies to the fear that you're not doing therapy correctly?

@NOCD Advocate - Katie Yes, I think that just sitting with the thought "There might be soap smeared across your TV." isn't enough therapy. It ultimately boils down to that fear here. My mind immediately goes to overcorrection/high exposures & I start feeling like I need to habituate to some other task that is harder than "What if there's soap smeared on the TV?" I think I'm not pushing myself far enough, when really I'm just torturing myself with the rumination. I know that ERP is about experiencing the obsession & then not performing the compulsion. I try to stick with that. I also know therapists have clients go above & beyond this & that's where I'm getting stuck. It's like I know what I need to do BUT what about the above & beyond exposure part? Feels wrong to exclude that, but also I don't think it'd get me anywhere if I did include it, just further into OCD.

@canigetawitness I think it might be helpful for you to drop habituation as the goal of therapy all together

@NOCD Advocate - Katie Maybe so. I'm meeting with a new therapist on Saturday & I'll mention that. It's been surprisingly difficult explaining all of this to a couple past OCD therapists.