Anyone else have obsessive thoughts about getting murdered? My 8 year old son is experiencing this and is very scared if he’s not close enough to see me in the house. We did ERP for scary images but he says he’s now more scared, not less, because the images used in erp gave him new things to be scared about. Ugh. Anyone else have these types of obsessive thoughts and found relief with erp? He doesn’t have any physical compulsions by the way, just continually seeking reassurance.

Hi!💗 me and my siblings have all suffered from this... but the others don't realize theirs is ocd as well. This is something we have all obsessed over our whole lives. Unfortunately reassurance has always been big for us. I think what helps is understanding you are safe in your environment and knowing that you're still there with him, even if he's not close to you. Reminding him you are there with him despite being a room away and protecting him.

Maybe gradual exposure! Rather than diving into scary images, try to find much smaller fears that he can encounter and face thus building his own confidence to face those ones and move forward!

I think definitely seeking guidance from a therapist to build it up! Sounds a bit like being thrown into ice water.. The build up is so so gradual of ERP. In the beginning it may seem that you aren't doing anything. But you are! It's training the brain to sit with little bits of discomfort or doing something a new way, which is uncomfortable in itself. Then building very very slowly. Are you in the US? If you are you can use this app for therapy! 😊

And probably asking if your child genuinely likes the therapist too.. I think that's important 😊. Children have a good innate sense of what fits for them and what doesn't, and when the right fit comes, you know when you know! 😊