- Username
- MoonFairy
- Date posted
- 3y ago
The goal isn't to stop the thoughts. It's to stop your response. Stop the response (ERP) and chabam! No more OCD symptoms. You're getting caught up in the thought of always having to do ERP. THAT is a compulsion. OCD is tricky that way 😉
Ahh fair enough. Well then the first stuff I worked on I don't do exposure for anymore. Awesome to hear about the tapping!
That’s awesome. I’m realizing that even though I only consider one issue in my life to be OCD, I actually have been obsessive/compulsive about multiple things. So thanks for that reminder to try exposures on different things! One great thing about tapping is that you can tap while incorporating ERP (and/or the principle of exposing yourself to the trigger) at the same time. :)
ERP works well over time and the thoughts become far less distressing. OCD rears it's ugly head again when I find myself off balance. Times of added stress, too little sleep, when I am hungry or sick.
Thanks :)
So, even though I’m no longer having panic attacks, ruminating, intrusive thoughts, avoidance, compulsive behavior, etc every single day like I was last year, I still get days where the thoughts seem more real than other days. I have essentially completed my ERP therapy, but even on days where I feel stressed about ANYTHING else going on in my life, my mind will also circle back around to the intrusive thoughts, even if that was not my originally stressor. But, if it gets really bad, I will repeat my old ERP exposures to calm me down and keep me center again. Don’t look at it as taking steps backwards, think of it as a refresher to clear your mind again and remind yourself who you really are.
Thank you :)
Thanks but that isn’t quite my experience. I don’t expect to stop the thoughts altogether, but I have experienced the thoughts becoming less problematic, and feeling as though I was able to manage the OCD, both with ERP and EFT Tapping (a form of energy healing.) I was curious what other people’s experience has been with doing exposures in terms of clearing the symptoms vs having to continue with exposures over time. I don’t actually get caught up in the thought of having to do ERP, and that hasn’t been a compulsion or compulsive thoughts. I’m more trying to learn about other people’s experiences, in part because I have had very similar results with those two different approaches, and EFT is known to be able to clear things over time. Thanks for answering :)
***For anyone who has had success with ERP,***…I’m Wondering about the effectiveness of It. I know Dr McGrath has said the thoughts become wimpier over time. What I am wondering is if you are locked into thoughts 24/7 it seems all day everyday, will ERP make them occur just occasionally? My theme is ROCD.
Hello- I have been battling many types of OCD on and off for 25+ years. Medication works but wanted to go off for 1st trimester of pregnancy. I am doing a good job deploying ERP tactics for pure o and real event ocd and it has removed physically anxiety symptoms and I can concentrate in life. However I do have a big sense of fear and all day gloomy feeling knowing that the thoughts that are disturbing are sitting out there and fear I will come up with new ones. Will this get better the longer I keep deploying the ERP tactics? I never have this when I am on medication. Thanks in advance.
I've been in treatment for about 3.5 months and I have definitely improved. However, I feel like I'm always relapsing... I do exposures for specific thoughts and it definitely helps. Usually my anxiety will go way down and that specific thought will improve. Then I may have a period of a week or so where my intrusive thoughts aren't so bothersome. But they ALWAYS come back. My ocd will latch on to anything at all and Im constantly having new intrusive thoughts. I seem to be stuck in a cycle of improvement and relapse. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Will the intrusive thoughts ever subside??
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