Hey everyone. I’m a little confused how ERP works with things like existential OCD. Like I’m not sure how to sit with the thoughts without comforting myself because it just comes automatically to me you know? I’m new to this so I probably just need some practice but any tips would be appreciated!

I deal with existential OCD. It’s a scary theme and it feels like it’s hard to conquer because there’s really no set “answer” where we can find solid proof I guess - it’s a weird one. With the self-soothing, I think it would be considered a compulsion. I used to do it all the time before regardless of the theme, I think if you’re saying it repeatedly to find relief from the anxiety, it’s a compulsion. With the automatic-ness of them, that just takes practice to overcome, it’ll be automatic at first because that was our first line of defense, but with practice we can be more aware of it and not fall into it. With ERP, I do a few exercises: I’ll watch videos on YouTube about existential topics that bother me (is life meaningless, am I real, are we living in a simulation, etc), write down on a notecard my “feared questions and look at them (what if I’m not real, what if life has no meaning and purpose, etc), and I also wrote a script of what my fear of it would entail, like writing a story. Hope this helps somewhat💛

Also is telling myself “it’s okay. These thoughts are unimportant it’s just anxiety” a form of reassurance? Most of the time telling myself that and getting my feet back on the ground is what helps me calm down..but I don’t want to do it if it means the thoughts will just keep coming back