How expensive are the therapy sessions in the Uk?

No worries! I did an art course haha, lots of drawing! And this theme came on for me when I was about 16, I’ve noticed since then that I’ve had ocd tendencies since I was little, but this theme started when I randomly had one thought which led me to sit up in my bed and have a panic attack and then couldn’t stop thinking about it (obvs haha it was ocd), was I was 17 I went through 4 weeks of talking therapy (absolutely awful lol tried to get me to blame people for me ocd), and then I went through 12 weeks of cbt (was amazing, we did a bit of erp but not much), and from there it went away for me until Christmas this year (I obviously had some small flare ups/ panics, but nothing I couldn’t handle), but being in lockdown just made me spiral again and I’m back to square one (kinda, since starting erp I’m starting to feel a lot better! I’m not having panic attacks at the moment and feeling a lot less anxious, I just can’t stop ruminating still!)

@MelodyOCD Once Id finally plucked up the courage to tell my family, I started talking therapy. My councellor always wanted to get to the root of my OCD, which just didn’t help and it ended with her telling me that she didn’t know how to help me. Her nor her boss had heard of this type of OCD before and it just left me feeling so hopeless. Since then I haven’t had any other therapy and I didn’t seem too bad. The thoughts were still there but I was managing them relatively. But now I am breaking again and feel myslef coming back to a bad place. I don’t know what to do:( I’m so glad your cbt helped though and I hope that your erp goes well too :)

@wInterbear Honestly talking therapy is the worsttt, usually they have no experience with ocd so have no clue how to treat it! I wish therapists would be honest from the beginning, we would’ve saved ourselves time, money and stress! They say ocd can sometimes come in waves of being manageable and really bad, sometimes those waves have long gaps in between and sometimes they don’t! If you can I really recommend erp, just so if this goes and comes back again, or comes back as another theme, you know how to handle it! :)

@MelodyOCD I’m realising now that it really was the worst. I would always dread my sessions because she just didn’t understand me and OCD. She made me feel so helpless and alone when she said she didn’t know how to help. I would love to do ERP but it’s so expensive and I feel so bad for making my parents pay for me:( especially when my talking therapy was such a waste

@wInterbear I’m so sorry you went through that :( and yeah therapy is very expensive and not an option for everyone which sucks, You can do erp on your own tho! It might be tricky to begin with, but this app has really good tools for it! You just have to remember to sit there and accept the thoughts whilst you’re doing it (not accept that they’re true, accept that they’re there and apart of your life for now :) )

@MelodyOCD How long do you do erp for each time? And should I do it everyday? And when you say just accept that they’re there should there be something I say for example it doesn’t matter your sexuality

@wInterbear There isn’t a set time you do it for it’s just when your anxiety is reduced by half. So for example if I think an exposure is gonna cause anxiety that id rate 6/10 I’d keep going doing the exposure until I get to at least 3/10 anxiety! It’s also normal for it to go up and down during the exposure time :) yeah try not to have a phrase you say in your head to “cancel the thoughts” because that can become a compulsion and is a kind of thought blocking, it’s tricky but allow the thoughts to happen and try to just sit with the anxiety! :)

@MelodyOCD Thank you. So say I was at a 6 and wanted to half it, would I have to do that in one sitting if ygm or would I try and half it over a few days?

@wInterbear In one sitting if you can! Sometimes it doesn’t always go down and that’s okay! Just gotta keep trying until you can! Have a look through the tool for it on this app, I think it walks you through how to do it :) it’s best if you create your hierarchy first, so things that trigger you, and just stick to the lower triggers for the first couple of weeks, don’t do any really bad ones for a while! Learn how to do erp first and work your way up, like learning a new skill! :)

@MelodyOCD Great, thank you so much:) I hope your erp goes well! Let me know how it goes!

@wInterbear Awh thank you! Good luck to you too!

Haha everyone can draw just takes practice! And yeah I’ve heard many stories of peoples ocd theme just starting with one thought which startled them! Although looking back at my life and childhood now I notice so many other ocd themes and thoughts, just none that ever got so bad I thought it was ocd, thought I just had anxiety

@MelodyOCD Me too, I remember the moment I found out that I had OCD and I was really relieved that I knew why I felt the way I did. I looked back on my childhood and everything started slotting into place. I understood why I did the things I used to do. For example I had some religious ocd themes, and many rituals and was very bad in terms of health anxiety/ocd

@wInterbear I also had a religious theme I think haha! I used to think I was doing bad things all the time and that I was sinning (I went to a religious primary school) but I’m no longer religious so that theme no longer bothers me luckily :) I wish I felt relieved knowing I have ocd haha, I unfortunately have the ocd intrusive thought where I don’t believe my diagnosis hahah, even tho I’ve been diagnosed 4 times now lol, our brains are weird sometimes haha!

@MelodyOCD I went to a religious primary school too and always felt I had to pray as otherwise something bad would happen and I had to do it until it felt right. Thankfully I don’t have that theme anymore either! I feel like that with this theme too. I keep thinking it’s not my OCD and that Im actually gay. I think back to my past experiences which make me think proves I’m a lesbian or bi which just scares me so much

@wInterbear Yeah past memories are awfulll, I look back now and think everything’s a “sign” that I’m lesbian or bi, but in reality I know deep down that it’s just me overthinking and obsessing, no person without ocd would analyse their past like that to find “answers” haha!

@MelodyOCD So do I, it’s really horrid. I don’t really know how to stop it because I feel like the things I’ve done are just proof. But then at the same time I feel like other people may have done the same. I have a few LGBT friends and I get anxious as they’ve told me things they’ve done in the past and say oh that’s why I’m gay now and the things I have done are similar in some ways

@wInterbear I don’t want to reassure you as it can make it worse, but remember you’re your own person, their experiences are theirs and yours are yours, they’re not necessarily the same! Our past doesn’t always define us, so I try to focus on the present and the future, focus on how I’m feeling now and how I want to get better, ruminating with the past is a compulsion and makes things worse

@MelodyOCD I will try and do the same. It’s so difficult not to ruminate but that’s really what makes it worse. The thing is is that I know it’s okay if I am lesbian or bi and that I’ll be accepted by the people around me but it’s just not what I want. I obviously find girls attractive and would even say women’s figures are in general more aesthetic but I know I don’t want to be with one. Ive only ever liked boys but my mind just tells me otherwise

@wInterbear Yeah Im lucky enough to be in the same situation! I know my friends and family would be more than supportive if I was gay or bi, I’ve had a few of my friends come out and everyone was lovely to them, but again like you I know who I am, we just have these intrusive thoughts which our brains overreact to! Erp is the way forward to not being afraid of them anymore :)

@MelodyOCD Yes, I’m going to start erp tomorrow:) I’ve got big exams coming up so I’m finding it hard to balance everything though. My ocd is also targeting one of my friends and making me think I have a crush on her. I really don’t know what to do regarding that, it makes me feel so sick

@wInterbear Good luck for your exams!! And treat it like any other erp exercise, allow the thoughts and anxiety to be there, just try not to work them out and ruminate!

@MelodyOCD Thank you so mych for all your help, it means a great deal to me. If I need anymore advice would it be okay for me to reply to you on this chat?

@wInterbear Awh no worries! It’s always nice to chat to people in the same situation :) and of course!

@MelodyMoo Hi again, I hope you don’t mind me messaging! I was wondering how your erp is going? I’m going through a really low phase right now and feel so hopeless

@wInterbear Hi! I actually finished therapy on here yesterday, but I’m also going through a low point right now :( hope you’re okay!

@MelodyMoo I’m sorry to hear that:( Are you glad that you did the therapy?

@wInterbear Yes I am glad, I’ve learnt a lot about ocd and how to manage it and I’m so grateful for that! However I did have unrealistic expectations, I thought I’d be cured forever in 9 weeks haha! In reality it’s going to take a lot longer than that, but that’s okay :)

so for 1 session it’s 127$?

@wInterbear Yeah

Thank you:) how old are you?

@wInterbear I’m 21!

@MelodyOCD I’m 18:)

@wInterbear We’re quite close in age then! Going through ocd in these years can be tricky so I understand, I hope you start feeling better soon!

@MelodyOCD It’s awful:( I’ve had hocd for over a year now and am so sick of it. I just want to get better, especially before I go to uni this year

@MelodyOCD do you have any social media? it’d be great to have some support :)