i think erp and the “maybe maybe not method” really only works for certain themes so if you have harm OCD, POCD, and others i understand why erp could be a little harder for you; it just baffles me that a therapist would tell you “well maybe you want to kill people maybe you don’t” it just doesn’t make sense to me and i think there should be a better therapy option for you all that struggle with things like this.

I’ve read a book on OCD , and you know that the chance is quite small . I was reading a book by Jonathan Grayson , and he was like certainty is a feeling and an illusion for everyone . I might become a pedophile. I might be a murderer . We kight be living in a false reality . This applies to everyone doesn’t it , we don’t know for sure . We have to accept That uncertainty exists and move on with life. It was harder for me because I have these exact themes . But maybe gives you an ambiguity , a feeling you don’t have to figure it out .

it can be really scary i know, but over time it gets easier and you realize that it's not so much you agreeing with if you'll hurt someone or not but rather letting that thought flow and knowing that you won't act on it. the fact that it disturbs you means you won't act on it. i saw something once that said "if the intrusive thoughts upset you that's good, if they don't then there's a problem." obviously it's easier said then done to just let the thought flow but over time it gets easier because you realize you cant control your thoughts and you aren't your thoughts at all. however i have heard some good feedback from CBT, so maybe try getting a therapist or psychiatrist in your area (or online) to do CBT with you and see how it goes.

I have lived with OCD for 20 years with different themes. I will tell you that there is no difference when it comes to uncertainty and different kind of thoughts. All of us have the worst case scenarios. I cant agree with you that the maybe, maybe not dont fit to some themes. My hardest one is contamination OCD, I believe I will kill someone with poison, its in no way an easy one. Dont compare themes. The treatment is the same.

I find it hard with ROCD too since there are naturally genuine fears in relationships too and how our feelings can effect the relationship. I'm starting my erp here tomorrow and I'm filled with dread. I find this hard because when I say things like that and they say acceptance therapy too I just accept the thoughts as real. People say just let them flow thru you and not about accepting them as real but not reacting to them or letting them be there without performing compulsions and honestly this is where I get stuck. I know if I do thing like this I genuinely accept it as real so I'm filled with dread. I'm doing this whilst on a waiting list for a free therapist who does Ocd with cbt and something else

This treatment seem scary to me because mine is if I don’t do everything right something bad will happen to my baby so how do I do the thing I think is going to hurt my baby

I totally see what you mean. It gets me furious at times. It's like how?! But I've come to a few conclusion though through years of self-loathe and even wanting to end my life over these horrifying themes: at the end of the day, what you value is what matters (and your everyday life, think of your life before OCD). Nobody should be tormented and deprived of living over something they may or may not have/be that at the end of day, true or not, wouldn't be something they choose/can change. This is something I would have *not* grasped at the peak of my OCD and earlier in my journey. This experience changes your philosophy as a person. Life is way too short. You experience thoughts of these "but I may be this" for years and in these whole years what has truly affected you is not being/doing these thoughts but *the* worrying about them. Otherwise, the theme has no effect in your reality and day to day life. You know?