- Date posted
- 4y
- Date posted
- 4y
The thoughts probably won’t reduce at first. We do compulsions to try to make the thoughts go away, so when we stop doing compulsions, the thoughts might feel multiplied or magnified for a while, and the urge to do compulsions is strong. But over time, your anxiety will go down and the thoughts won’t feel as big and scary. ERP can be very anxiety-provoking, but by going through that anxiety, you free your future self to live a full, happy life, unburdened by fear of intrusive thoughts. There is sadly no way to make it all go away. Everyone on the planet has intrusive thoughts; OCD just makes us fear the intrusive thoughts, which makes them difficult to accept and ignore. Medication can help if ERP alone isn’t enough.
- Date posted
- 4y
I’m on medication but it’s only been a couple weeks. Erp has been so hard to do because I I have intrusive thoughts because of pocd and other family members. It’s terrible
- Date posted
- 4y
@Just Breathe ❤️ Ah, it will probably take a little longer to see if the medication is helping. I know the ERP is extremely hard. Please believe it gets better. Try to be kind to yourself and speak up if you find the exposures too difficult to tolerate - therapist can always scale them back to be at a better level for where you are now.
- Date posted
- 4y
Are you seeing an ERP therapist? I think you will need that support
- Date posted
- 4y
Yes through NOCD
- Date posted
- 4y
@Just Breathe ❤️ That’s awesome!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 25w
I cant get over this thought that is messing my recovery up so much. it was “if you dont act on your thoughts this will never go away” which led to thoughts like if i even wanted to get better, if i even want my life back, if i even WANTED this to go away, etc. im scared. im confused. is this normal? am i gonna have to act on this stuff now? im mainly concerned about my family. i dont wanna hurt them. this disease is horrible. this subtype is horrible. i love my family. why would i want to hurt them? im so afraid this is it for me. i try to do what everyone tells me. ignore the thought, let it sit, sit with the uncertainty/discomfort but the anxiety doesn’t go away. this thought keeps coming back with a vengeance. i thought i was making great progress but im back where i was. i ruminate about this 24/7 and i dont know how to stop. we tried sitting on the couch together last night and it felt like i was RESISTING hurting them. im in constant awareness that i can act on these anytime and it hinders my daily life and work so much. everytime i talk to anyone in my family i feel things like i shouldnt be talking to them if im gonna hurt them and i dont deserve to be around them. i feel like i dont deserve to be alive, i dont deserve to be happy, and i dont deserve to be comfortable. i feel like a psycho whos never gonna get to live life with a husband and family. i feel like i don’t deserve my sweet boyfriend. i dont want my thoughts to latch onto him. this is my mind when i wake up, when i try to go about my day, and when i go to sleep. it feels like it just wont dissipate regardless of what i do. the cycle never ends. its been 4 MONTHS. what the fuck do i do anymore
- Date posted
- 24w
A lot of times I feel like I truly don’t have OCD but then I’m very humbled when I get gruesome images and thoughts of killing my family. I just have a hard time not letting the thoughts stick and try to find the meaning of it. I just feel so stuck with my intrusive thoughts/images. They bring on so many sensations that feel real. I’m just not sure how I should be reacting to them.
- Date posted
- 21w
My ocd them has gotten worse and I’m trying my hardest to not look for reassurance. Why does my mind play these tricks on me that I’m saying my thoughts out loud????? I’m trying my hardest to ignore it but it’s making me depressed. When I’m ignoring it my brain will go to “everybody will talk about you” “you said something bad” “you said it out loud and when you’ll live a terrible life”. I don’t know what to do anymore
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