Can somebody please assist here I'm trying to do erp erp for me is almost every thought anyway however before I am able to do erp I react automatically with my thoughts the reaction is automatic I haven't got a clue how to change this. Its frustrating me because I know now I've trained my mind to produce these ocd symptoms because of the way I react how can I react differently when it's happening automatically now? This is not reassurance I'm asking for a way to help myself around and eventually through the situation.

J101

Date posted: 4y

Ahhh OK no problem

DianaB

Date posted: 4y

Can you explain a bit further what you are struggling with? Is the problem that your compulsions are purely mental (for example, a word/phrase that you need to think in order to get rid of a bad thought), and so you don’t know how to stop doing the compulsion? If so, one thing my therapist has suggested that has helped me is to “change the rules”. Rather than trying to stop altogether right away, I create new rules for the words/phrases I have to think as my compulsion. Then every time I get used to a new rule, I change it up again, over and over until my brain gets too confused to track all the new rules. This goes on over the course of a few weeks. It helps me make the rules/compulsions themselves less “sticky” or automatic, and then from there I can start to slowly work on going longer and longer periods of time without doing the compulsion at all. Is that helpful at all?

J101

Date posted: 4y

Thank you for your reply I've commented below

anonymous13

Date posted: 4y

Following

J101

Date posted: 4y

Following?

anonymous13

Date posted: 4y

I’m commenting to stay on the post, so that it notifies me when someone responds rather then having to find the post again

J101

Date posted: 4y

Basically I start begging in my mind I say please please I promise I will do it and then I will react automatically from this. If I quit here I overreact automatically. I'm apologise if it don't make sense I will try and improve this my levels of concentration are poor atm.

DianaB

Date posted: 4y

No worries, thanks for clarifying! I think if the main compulsion is the begging in your mind, then something like what I described above might work really well. On the other hand, if the main compulsion is that you actually do the thing that you are saying in your mind you promise you will do, then that is more of a physical compulsion so it might make sense to approach it in a more typical way. So that would mean learning to stop yourself from doing the compulsion even when the begging in your mind is there. One thing I have done when my compulsion is automatic (for example, checking my calendar or rereading words on a page) is to put something in place to make it more difficult for me to do the compulsion. For example, I would cover my calendar or the page with a piece of paper so that I can’t just look at it. I would have to actually decide to move the piece of paper to do the compulsion. That gives me the extra time/ability to fight back against my mind telling me I need to do it, and to decide not to do it anyway. Let me know if either of these ideas is helpful! And good luck! :)

J101

Date posted: 4y

Thank you for your kind response 🙏 I will try these techniques out.... I will reply my concentration is really poor ATM...

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