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And just as an addendum: there’s no way to know how you will individually respond to ERP until you do it. There’s no total guarantee or certainty to be had. Could you do it and not benefit? Sure. Anything is possible. Could you do it and notice a great improvement? Sure. It seems like you’re trying to figure out how you can *guarantee* you won’t feel anxiety anymore after you go through formal treatment. No one can predict that.
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I’m going to assume you were replying to me. And I definitely don’t look for a guarantee of no anxiety, I have already been told by many doctors that with GAD and OCD the anxiety is never gonna go anywhere for my entire life I will deal with it
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@Justmesadly I’d just say you’re only going to know it helps if you do it.
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@NOCD Advocate - Carl Cornett Yes Sir, totally agree! But if it makes it worse then I’m restarting :(
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Don’t tell me that... that sounds counter productive ! Especially since the point is to eleminate the anxiety?
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Not necessarily. There’s two ways ERP works: habituation and inhibitory learning. Habituation is when you sit with the anxiety and it dissipates on its own. Inhibitory learning is when it doesn’t decrease, but you learn you can experience incredibly intense anxiety and nothing happens. The point of ERP is to trigger a response so you can practice resisting and eliminating compulsions. It is NOT about eliminating anxiety. Think of it this way, running is about improving endurance and cardiovascular capacity. It just so happens that exercise improves mental health, but that’s not technically the *point* of running. Same with ERP. It just so happens that you might experience less anxiety as a result. But that’s not necessarily the purpose.
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@NOCD Advocate - Carl Cornett So I’m confused about the point of it then... that makes me not want to do ERP? I have constantly seen the more you sit with the anxiety and don’t do a compulsion then the anxiety starts to go away
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@Justmesadly The point is to untangle the relationship between compulsion and obsession. I’m not saying your anxiety won’t decrease, it very well may! But the purpose of ERP isn’t that. It’s to help you eliminate compulsions, and therefore making your OCD far more manageable.
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@NOCD Advocate - Carl Cornett So if I’ve already elemanted a lot of my complusions on my own I’d be wasting 1,000$ to seek treatment for erp?
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@Justmesadly Not necessarily. You can always learn the tools with formal practice guided by a professional who is clinically trained. Michael Jordan was an amazing basketball player, but benefited by having a great coach. You can always learn more.
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@NOCD Advocate - Carl Cornett 100% agree. You just have me worried now(not your fault) ! I don’t want to waste their time or my own time and a family members money
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I’m sorry for blowing up your post ! I hope Carl’s responses have helped you out! You got this
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Yes very helpful conversation!
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