i read an article earlier on and it said you should definitely not try erp by yourself and you need an ocd specialist to do erp. i don’t have access to one, so should i not do it?

bubbless

Date posted: 4y

Erp doesn’t have to be so technical. A lot of people can’t afford going to/having sessions with an ocd therapist so they can actually start doing ERP on their own. You can start off by watching, listening, or reading something that you used to enjoy that now triggers a subtype and see how well you handle it. And if you get anxious, “maybe I do, maybe I don’t.” “maybe I will, maybe I won’t.”

JBC94

Date posted: 4y

For me I have been doing ERP on my own and have noticed significant progress! I was struggling with suicide ocd (having thoughts of killing myself/harming myself that I DID NOT want to do). I also had OCD about becoming depressed, etc. Anyway, I started by doing 15 minute ERP sessions with a knife and just dropped my guard against the thoughts and just let them exist. There was one instance where everything just clicked. I had tried ERP before but I was doing it with a misunderstanding that when you do it, you try not to have the thoughts. Well, I learned that it’s truly about letting your mind throw any and all thoughts at you, and realizing that they’re powerless and will not hurt you. It’s our reaction to the thoughts that drives the OCD. So when I was sitting there and having literally all kinds of self harm thoughts (at one point I couldn’t think clearly at all) I had my first true breakthrough in 2 years of struggling with it. No matter what my mind throws at me, I am in control of my body, I am in control of how I choose to respond to them. So yes, you can do ERP alone and see positive results, it’s just a bit more difficult. Hope this has helped :)

bubbless

Date posted: 4y

Ditto!!!!

emily_444

Date posted: 4y

thank you so much for sharing, this really does inspire me!

Nzz

Date posted: 4y

I wouldn’t advise trying it on your own especially for the first time. Especially bc a lot of the time one of our fears is... “did I do it right? Or am I a bad person now?” Your therapist will start you off w the thing that gives u the least amount of anxiety. It’s best to do guided ones w them at first. Would you like me to ask my therapist what her advice is about ERP if someone doesn’t have access to a specialist?

wiwi

Date posted: 4y

I don't have access to one either in my region.😟 If you do ask your therapist it would be really appreciated ❤

emily_444

Date posted: 4y

that would be amazing if you could ask them. thank you so much!

feethebee

Date posted: 4y

if you have mild to moderate ocd then i think it's completely fine to do some erp by yourself, as long as you're educated enough on it

Freddy327

Date posted: 24w

Waiting for therapy

Hi everyone. I'm feeling kinda scared because I have to wait a whole month to start ERP therapy, but I feel like I need to start doing exposures now because the longer I wait, the more anxiety I get. It just feels like the OCD monster is getting worse. One thing that helps me is asking one person about an obsession I have...asking a person that I trust, and then doing an exposure after I get the "ok" to do it. I feel like I do need 1 reassurance and then I can go ahead and do it. I know i'm not supposed to ask for reassurance at all, but i dont think you're supposed to do ERP on your own right? Does anyone have any suggestions for what to do while waiting for therapy? PS-the reason there is a wait is bc she's on vacation. After she's back we will meet regularly.

Andrea Wells

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 20w

My OCD Journey

Looking back, I realize I’ve had OCD since I was 7. though I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 30. As a kid, I was consumed by fears I couldn’t explain: "What if God isn’t real? What happens when we die? How do I know I’m real?" These existential thoughts terrified me, and while everyone has them from time to time, I felt like they were consuming my life. By 12, I was having daily panic attacks about death and war, feeling untethered from reality as depersonalization and derealization set in. At 15, I turned to drinking, spending the next 15 years drunk, trying to escape my mind. I hated myself, struggled with my body, and my intrusive thoughts. Sobriety forced me to face it all head-on. In May 2022, I finally learned I had OCD. I remember the exact date: May 10th. Reading about it, I thought, "Oh my God, this is it. This explains everything." My main themes were existential OCD and self-harm intrusive thoughts. The self-harm fears were the hardest: "What if I kill myself? What if I lose control?" These thoughts terrified me because I didn’t want to die. ERP changed everything. At first, I thought, "You want me to confront my worst fears? Are you kidding me?" But ERP is gradual and done at your pace. My therapist taught me to lean into uncertainty instead of fighting it. She’d say, "Maybe you’ll kill yourself—who knows?" At first, it felt scary, but for OCD, it was freeing. Slowly, I realized my thoughts were just thoughts. ERP gave me my life back. I’m working again, I’m sober, and for the first time, I can imagine a future. If you’re scared to try ERP, I get it. But if you’re already living in fear, why not try a set of tools that can give you hope?

Perfect Impe...

Date posted: 23d

Question

What would I do for ERP if my OCD says because I didn’t do something correctly or remember something I will have panic attacks that don’t end?

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i read an article earlier on and it said you should definitely not try erp by yourself and you need an ocd specialist to do erp. i don’t have access to one, so should i not do it?

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