- Date posted
- 4y ago
- Date posted
- 4y ago
It’s to increase the anxiety levels by going to an extreme to keep facing that fear, because OCD is a trickster. No one wants to do any of those things, even non OCD sufferers. But the fact is that the person with OCD is afraid of contamination, whereas the non OCD sufferer know there is a chance of contamination but arent going to ponder and wonder and ruminate if they were poisoned or contaminated etc or check their body symptoms whatever it may be. to defeat OCD you must go great lengths of feeling disgusting fear, it’s about exposing yourself to extremes so your brain stops bringing it up with anxiety. It’s literally to fix your brain.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
It’s not to get you to “like” those things or be comfortable. It’s to get you to be comfortable with discomfort and knowing you can handle it.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@charleejadeg Then eventually the anixety will subside. It’s exactly why people with harm OCD keep knives in their house or next to them.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Okay, but where do you draw the line? That's what's confusing me. For example I have intrusive thoughts about losing my wallet when I go out & I'll check my pocket/around me to make sure my wallet is still there. So for exposure therapy I go to extremes and throw my wallet away? That doesn't make sense. Also, isn't it about uncertainty, maybe I did drop my wallet, maybe I didn't, but I'm not going to check. This is what I mean by things contradicting each other. Are intrusive thoughts really just intrusive thoughts or reality?
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@feelinghopeless23 I don’t see where the contradiction is. Intrusive thoughts are just thoughts. Like literally just thoughts. For exposure therapy about your wallet, it would be about not doing a compulsion, like checking. Exposure therapy isn’t about having your fears happen to get over it , it’s about accepting the uncertainty of them. That you don’t know if fears could come true or not. For me, ERP would be going outside on a walk at night, I could have a panic attack, I also could just be chill. But I accept the uncertainty, and the possibility of it happening and I still go on a walk.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@feelinghopeless23 I mean you draw the line like any other person would with their actions. Why would you throw your wallet away? If the fear is losing it and not knowing. Because then you’d be certain that you lost your wallet.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@charleejadeg Then there is no uncertainty. It’s really simple.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@charleejadeg Yeah, I agree. I personally don't have contamination fears, but I would draw the line at licking a public toilet seat on regular basis. Some of the extreme exposures are beyond me I guess. I get facing the intrusive thought and not doing the compulsion, but then to go beyond that would start to make me feel not like myself & that's where I get confused.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@feelinghopeless23 Yeah I totally get that. I personally never would want to do that but for people who have it, it’s important. And they don’t do it regularly LOL! They just do it to get over the fear. Then it’s one and done :3
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@charleejadeg Well not one and done but i mean once they get rid of the contamination fear.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@charleejadeg Certainly all therapists want clients to go further than what your average person would do but not all think you have to go to such extremes as licking a public toilet seat.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Missy That’s true. But it does help.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@charleejadeg Agreed!
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- 4y ago
@Missy While I can sort of understand how it might help, I'm still confused about what ERP is. So each time I don't do a compulsion in response to an intrusive thought, is this ERP ?
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@feelinghopeless23 Yes !! No compulsions and accepting anxiety. No ruminating or neutralizing thoughts. No nothing
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@feelinghopeless23 ERP is one of those things that makes way more sense when you’re doing it. It is hard to wrap ones mind around it without experiencing it.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
My NOCD therapist said he would ever recommend an exposure that was something he wouldn’t also recommend to someone who wasn’t going through therapy. For example, anything that would be unsafe, unhealthy (ie, licking a public toilet would be pretty unreasonable). But it should make you uncomfortable.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Yes! Someone might be asked to sit in a bathroom and eat a snack. Do most people do that? No but certainly people might use the bathroom as they’re eating a breakfast bar or something. So it pushes the boundaries somewhat but not to a ridiculous extent. That said, some therapists (Shala Nicely - an OCD therapist who has OCD herself) do push those boundaries. Ultimately, ERP requires creativity and flexibility and some pushing of boundaries.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Missy Yes! And sometimes, it’s just *imaging* doing those things. Just imagining those types of scenarios was intense enough for me to be effective. (Combined with in-real-life exercises too.)
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@sara235 Absolutely! It can be a great way to start!
- Date posted
- 4y ago
me*
- Date posted
- 4y ago
I think what confuses me is the E part of treatment. I get not doing the compulsions in response to the intrusive thoughts. But for example if my intrusive thought is "Have I just dropped $20 on the ground?" And my compulsion is to check, I get confused about what the exposure part is. Do I just let the thought be there, do I go above and beyond and start dropping a moderate amount of money on the ground.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
No you just let the thought be there and don’t check at all.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@charleejadeg Okay, I'll try to do that. I keep comparing this money theme to a contamination theme and what one might do that's considered intense (licking a toilet) for example.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
It might be more like putting your wallet in your pocket and finding a way to ensure you don’t check for it while you walk so you’re uncertain the wallet hasn’t fallen out. Maybe you place single dollar bills in all your pockets which could theoretically fall out. Maybe you carry something with your hands to make it harder to check to be sure.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Missy That’s a great idea
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Missy Those are good exposure ideas too. I might try some of those. Thanks charleejadeg & Missy
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@feelinghopeless23 Good luck 🤍
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@feelinghopeless23 I think you're doing the same mistake as I have done many times, thinking about extreme exposures without being in therapy. You never start with this extreme overbending exercises and you dont need to know much about them before you have reached that level so to speak.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Estrid Yes, I think you're right. I guess since I can't afford therapy right now, I wonder how far I need to go with this money worry, or if I just let the intrusive thoughts be there without reacting compulsively. It is hard to know how far to push myself and where to draw the line with "overcorrection" exposures.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@feelinghopeless23 with any theme really.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@feelinghopeless23 Yes, I definitely understand you. I want to figure out everything about where to draw the line...thats an obsession too. Have you tried to learn mindfulness? Its a great tool and helps you to be in the present moment and dont drift away too much into the future, and to make realistic plans for your own recovery.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 21w ago
I have contamination OCD that causes me to excessively wash my hands/clean items with disinfectant wipes. I know I just need to start with small exposures but how do I do that without spiraling? I tried a while back by just touching the outside of my dishwasher and not washing my hands after and it led to me being unable to even exist in my house. I basically lived on my couch for three weeks as it was the only 'safe' space that I had not touched with my dirty hands. I had to take a week off work to clean my house to make it somewhat liveable. I still haven't got round to cleaning everything though so things like my kitchen are still no-go zones that I don't enter. I just don't know how to start ERP without it making everything worse. Any advice would be appreciated. I am not seeing a therapist at the moment due to financial constraints.
- Date posted
- 13w ago
I’ve noticed that I’m somewhat happier also ignoring my thoughts than I am instead of doing compulsions (I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired atp) but I’ve heard you’re technically supposed to do erp rather than pushing under the rug. But idk if I have a thought I just refuse to think about it again and im fine even if I want to do compulsions
- Date posted
- 9w ago
What ERP or other techniques do you use to combat fear of cancelation? Especially curious about those with taboo thoughts, false memory ocd and event ocd based off of real events where the fear of cancellation may actually hold some validity. I once did my own ERP not under a therapist but just on my own I decided to create an anonymous account on Twitter and defend a friend who was receiving online criticism. I knew that this would be semi-controversial so I was expecting backlash and when I recieved troll replies it actually seemed to be a really helpful low-stakes exposure activity. Is this something that others have done? Low stakes online posts etc. that you know will recieve negative responses? I have had severe OCD as a kid as pretty much every subtype under the sun, and as an adult I pretty much have all the types under control except for this real event and false memory and taboo thought OCD. It seems like a different beast since it's somewhat realistic in the camcellation culture today, and it's confusing to address. Ive shut down almost all social accounts and it's keeping me from progressing in a career where I need to have an online presence :/
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