- Date posted
- 4y ago
- Date posted
- 4y ago
When I first started ERP with an NOCD therapist my OCD actually got worse but that is normal. I would spend half the day crying because of the distress from the practice exposures. I only have 2 sessions left and I feel stronger than I have ever been in my entire life!!
- Date posted
- 4y ago
That’s good to know
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Yes I tried doing 10/10 exposures on my own and it is horrific
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@NickD Totally - it’s hard not to try those exposures to try to feel better. But I’m really having faith that it will be much easier when a professional walks me through it instead of doing it alone😊
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Danielle Speaking for myself...I couldn’t do ERP without a therapist to guide me.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
@Danielle Yes me too. They are worth the struggle to fight this.
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- 4y ago
Don’t be! Honestly sometimes they’re even kinda fun. You both got this !
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- 4y ago
Really? What was fun for you?
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- 4y ago
@Danielle Right ??!
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- 4y ago
if an exposure was fun for you i highly doubt it was actually a useful exposure...
- Date posted
- 4y ago
You start w easier exposures and work your way up to the more difficult ones. My OCD is most prevalent when I’m in romantic relationships. I feel guilty for everything I do or say or think. I feel bad if I even could’ve technically lied. And so confessions were my compulsion. Some of my exposures included reading articles where women were keeping deep secrets from their partners. Some other ones were telling white lies to my friends. Writing scripts. Wearing certain clothes or things that might provoke guilt. Of course the exposures get harder as you work your way up the ladder. But reading articles/doing exposures with my therapist or completing the homework shed give me and reporting back w how it went was the “fun” part. I can only think of one exposure that made me emotional. Of course everyone is different and I do have other OCD subtypes I worked on that don’t have to do w relationships or romantic partners.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Thank you this was very helpful
- Date posted
- 4y ago
That was so helpful, mine are related to relationships too. Thank you for sharing this, it’s encouraging to hear that there is light at the end of the tunnel 😊 I totally have confessions like that too. How strange.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Nick, have you made your heirarchy yet? Part of the reason you make it is so that you can titratethe levels of anxiety that you will experience. As you do the lower levels of the heirarchy, your ability to tolerate the anxiety and fear will increase, so the things at the top will be tolerable. Keepin mind that this is YOUR therapy. Although ERP is definitely going to make you uncomfortable, you have a big say in how fast it progresses, how scary the exposures, etc.
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Me too😣
Related posts
- Date posted
- 23w ago
I am wanting to go to therapy to hopefully lower my OCD symptoms but I am terrified to tell anyone else, like a therapist, about my intrusive thoughts. Has anyone else had this experience and if so how did you get over it?
- User type
- Therapist
- Date posted
- 9w ago
So you got to ask me anything… Now I’d like to ask you something! I’ve heard from Members that they were so scared coming to their first ERP session. They were terrified that I would think they were crazy, that I would tell them their worst fears were true. That I would confirm they are some form of a terrible person or have them hauled off to prison for their thoughts. I’ve also had Members share how they’re very scared to begin ERP treatment because they’ve researched enough to know it means facing the fear, without the compulsions that have kept them feeling safe (but not really safe) this entire time. They struggled to see how they could be capable of doing this, while simultaneously acknowledging that they did not want to live like this anymore. If you have had your first session, what were your thoughts before? Did you have any hesitations or fears going into it? How did it turn out? If you haven’t yet begun to work with an ERP specialist, what is holding you back?
- Date posted
- 9w ago
i am starting NOCD therapy on monday and was just curious on others’ experiences! what happens in your sessions, generally speaking? how do you feel during and after? i’m excited but also nervous to start. i’ve been in talk therapy for years with minimal improvement with my ocd, so im hopeful to start feeling better.
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