Hey guys. I don’t know if any of you have already seen this study (it is from a little while ago) but I just wanted to share it for anyone who is struggling with exposure therapy because seeing this study is something that has helped me. Here’s the link: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/behavioral-therapy-increases-connectivity-in-brains-of-people-with-ocd As it states in the article, “The changes appeared to compensate for, rather than correct, underlying brain dysfunction”. There is of course no cure for OCD currently, but seeing this study gave me so much hope because the fact that CBT can actually change the brain of someone with OCD is amazing in my opinion. The changes to your brain that can actually reduce your OCD symptoms are soooooo much more important than the temporary relief we get when we engage in our compulsions.

@marksmarksmarks ERP is a type of CBT therapy.

Still appreciate your thoughts though.

@marksmarksmarks This study used behavioral therapy (ERP) which is a type of CBT therapy. I posted this article in hopes it could help someone who is struggling with doing ERP by realizing the results of ERP are very real: actual changes to the brain. :)

Thank you for the link. I personally have a better results with exposure therapy. CBT works with beliefs and it is all well. I noticed that the more I was focusing and searching for problematic cognitions the bigger the issue became, deeper the problem. Moreover, the period between plan and action becomes longer weakening my self-image. CBT seems to offer an easier way, but it may become a false illusion, there is no easy way for a change in behavior, so you need a gradual habituation. I am not a pro, only my expierience and thoughts. And I don’t know about OCD so much. I heard that CBT is also very successful in studies vs. exposure. Perhaps it is individual.. Some CBT have also the exposure involved. Positive self-talk should also help. Again, my feeling is that the shorter the way between intention and action, the better, even when it feels hard. By deepening the issue and reflecting about the problem we indirectly tell ourselves that we cannot manage the new behavior without new some new thoughts and feeling we may not have solved all the problems spending too many time on the reflection and damaging the self image belief to be able to immediately act on new behavior.

(They are this comparison in studies cognitive therapy versus behavioristic. But like you say, exposure is often involved)Perhaps the combination is a good idea. Thank you for the advice!

Thanks for posting this Pineapple. I find that research regarding the real hard evidence for doing ERP helps me stick to it. It’s definitely encouraging. I wonder though if it works the other way too - doing rituals for too long makes the pathways in the brain more engrained and the OCD harder to treat. Like, how long do you have to do exposures to see these benefits and does it depend on how long the OCD went untreated?