- Date posted
- 4y
- Date posted
- 4y
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
That’s good to know
- Date posted
- 4y
Yes I tried doing 10/10 exposures on my own and it is horrific
- Date posted
- 4y
@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
@Danielle Speaking for myself...I couldn’t do ERP without a therapist to guide me.
- Date posted
- 4y
@Danielle Yes me too. They are worth the struggle to fight this.
- Date posted
- 4y
Don’t be! Honestly sometimes they’re even kinda fun. You both got this !
- Date posted
- 4y
Really? What was fun for you?
- Date posted
- 4y
@Danielle Right ??!
- Date posted
- 4y
if an exposure was fun for you i highly doubt it was actually a useful exposure...
- Date posted
- 4y
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
Thank you this was very helpful
- Date posted
- 4y
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
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
Me too😣
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
My NOCD therapist (who has been awesome) and I are both struggling to identify ways in which I can practice exposure therapy while in-session, because the vast majority of my OCD symptoms are mental compulsions. For example: indecision and inability to commit to a choice; seeking reassurance on decisions from friends and family; mental review of things that have just happened / social situations; over-thinking and catastrophizing. I also have some other hallmark symptoms (contamination fears, moral scrupulosity, etc) but those tend to be inconsistent too. It’s hard to really practice these during my sessions because so many are in the moment and fleeting. By the time I join my session they are no longer active. How can we establish exposure responses during my sessions, if most of my OCD involves mental rumination and overthinking patterns/thought loops that only occur “in the moments - rather than specific or consistent compulsions (such as hand washing)?
- Date posted
- 23w
About the beginning to middle of February I went into the doctor and requested to see a counselor. I’m starting to see a counselor about anxiety in a few days and I’m extremely nervous. I’m nervous my counselor is going to say I have to break up with my bf otherwise I’ll be stuck with ocd for the rest of my life. I’m nervous my counselor is going to think I’m crazy and not know anything about ocd. I’m nervous my counselor is going to tell my aunt how crazy and messed up I am because my aunt works in the clinic I’m going to therapy at, and if she tells my aunt everyone in my family may find out. I’m nervous I’m going to hell because I’m going to counseling and not fully leaning on God instead to fix it all for me. I’m nervous I’m a bad Christian for going to therapy and not believing Jesus is going to fix it all. I’m nervous that my future is ruined because of my mental health. I’m worried that my boyfriend is going to break up with me because I’m too much to handle and too anxious. I’m just scared for my future because of my ocd and because I am not as passionate about my faith as I used to be so I feel like I’m gonna go to hell for that or like my sister is going to die because of her seizures because of my ocd. Idk I’m so scared.
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 21w
I find while doing exposures, rarely does my anxiety lessen. It usually amps up and stays that way for the remainder of the day. I could be having a fairly decent day, but dutifully do my exposures and then the rest of my day is anxiety filled. I guess that’s just how it is now? Also, I’m wondering if my therapist even believes I have OCD. I totally understand my therapist cannot provide reassurance. But it’s to the point it seems my therapist acts like I actually did the thing I fear. I feel so isolated.
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