RH_92
- Date posted
- 3y ago
cheyrascheyras
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y ago
A compulsion is any behavior that is intended to stop the anxiety, or to convince yourself the thoughts aren’t real. So if you find yourself researching, checking, generally trying to give yourself “proof” that you’re not a bad person, etc… that would all be compulsions that you want to avoid. Most of my compulsions are mental - repetitive prayers, trying to reason things out in my head, rumination, etc. They can be hard to avoid because you can’t exactly turn off your thoughts. The thing that helps me is to basically just tell myself that it is OK to feel anxious and panicked right now, that I don’t need to solve it right now, and then to just do my best to get involved in something else - be that work, a video game, watching YouTube videos (unrelated to what I’m worried about obviously,) etc. Or even just mindfulness meditation, focusing on just regular physical sensations like how breathing feels or the weight of my body contacting the chair I’m sitting on, helps.
RH_92RH_92
- Date posted
- 3y ago
I've watched a video where it says not to do any relaxation techniques, like deep breathing, because it can make ERP less effective. What do y'all think about that? I just want to make sure that I'm going to do this right.
RH_92RH_92
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Also, they say to sit with the anxiety... I like the idea of shifting my attention to something else, I feel like that would be less uncomfortable. There's just so much information out there.
cheyrascheyras
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Keep in mind that by shifting your attention to something else, the goal isn’t to stop the anxiety (which won’t happen right away) it’s basically just a powerful way of saying “I can tolerate these uncomfortable feelings, and I’m going to go live my life whether I’m feeling anxious or not.” I find things like mindfulness meditation helpful not because it removes the anxiety, but because it makes it easier to feel grounded and take my brain off of attempting to do mental compulsions (most of my compulsions are mental, so if I literally just sit with the anxiety and don’t do anything else it’s hard for my brain to not go into those mental checks and ruminations.)
Orange-Colored_GlassesOrange-Color...
- Date posted
- 3y ago
It can be super hard to stop mental compulsions, especially at first! It gets easier with practice. One thing that helps me is the option to “spoil” a compulsion after the fact. For example, if you tell yourself “I would never do xyz,” you can spoil it afterwards by saying “actually, I might do xyz.” Ask your therapist about this technique to see how it might apply for you. Also, remember to take time to relax and rest outside of exposure time! Starting ERP is exhausting, so you might need more sleep than usual.
Related posts
EllieH95
- Date posted
- 21w ago
How do you do ERP without spiraling?
I have contamination OCD that causes me to excessively wash my hands/clean items with disinfectant wipes. I know I just need to start with small exposures but how do I do that without spiraling? I tried a while back by just touching the outside of my dishwasher and not washing my hands after and it led to me being unable to even exist in my house. I basically lived on my couch for three weeks as it was the only 'safe' space that I had not touched with my dirty hands. I had to take a week off work to clean my house to make it somewhat liveable. I still haven't got round to cleaning everything though so things like my kitchen are still no-go zones that I don't enter. I just don't know how to start ERP without it making everything worse. Any advice would be appreciated. I am not seeing a therapist at the moment due to financial constraints.
Freddy327
- Date posted
- 18w ago
Waiting for therapy
Hi everyone. I'm feeling kinda scared because I have to wait a whole month to start ERP therapy, but I feel like I need to start doing exposures now because the longer I wait, the more anxiety I get. It just feels like the OCD monster is getting worse. One thing that helps me is asking one person about an obsession I have...asking a person that I trust, and then doing an exposure after I get the "ok" to do it. I feel like I do need 1 reassurance and then I can go ahead and do it. I know i'm not supposed to ask for reassurance at all, but i dont think you're supposed to do ERP on your own right? Does anyone have any suggestions for what to do while waiting for therapy? PS-the reason there is a wait is bc she's on vacation. After she's back we will meet regularly.
Anonymousssssss
- Date posted
- 14w ago
Do you have to do erp?
I’ve noticed that I’m somewhat happier also ignoring my thoughts than I am instead of doing compulsions (I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired atp) but I’ve heard you’re technically supposed to do erp rather than pushing under the rug. But idk if I have a thought I just refuse to think about it again and im fine even if I want to do compulsions
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