SunsetAquarius78
- Date posted
- 3y
AveryKatAveryKat
- Date posted
- 3y
The thoughts won’t go away with a snap of the fingers, it’s definitely a gradual process. I used to have intrusive thoughts and anxiety every minute of every day, but with exposure therapy my thoughts have been reduced, but they haven’t totally gone away. The more time and effort you put in not giving in to your compulsions and exposing yourself to those fears, the more progress I think you’ll makes. I suggest you practice saying out loud, “I accept the uncertainty that ….” Or “I may or may not do (whatever your fear is)…..” The most important step in overcoming this is to accept the uncertainty and not knowing for sure whether your fears are true or not. Just treat those intrustive thoughts like any other thought that comes in your head. Just notice it like “huh. That’s a weird thought. Well I have homework that I need to do“ and move on
SunsetAquarius78SunsetAquari...
- Date posted
- 3y
When I have an instructive thought I feel the need to confess. And right now I feel like I need to tell my mom because I’m so ashamed of my thought. But it’s such an insane disturbed thought that it might just do more damage. So I am trying not to give in to that compulsion
AveryKatAveryKat
- Date posted
- 3y
I definitely understand the feeling. I always felt like I needed to “confess” things to my boyfriend that weren’t even problems, but my OCD was telling me that I was cheating on him somehow. It’s important to realize that your ocd disturbs you a lot because ocd attacks the things that we value the most in life. Use this as an opportunity to see all of the things that you hold dear in your life. Ocd might try to separate you from the things that you love, but resist that urge to do a compulsion and accept the feelings of anxiety. Exposure to your fears without engagement in compulsions will help you improve :)
SunsetAquarius78SunsetAquari...
- Date posted
- 3y
@AveryKat Thank you so much :)
Lms526Lms526
- Date posted
- 3y
A good exposure will trigger your anxiety. The key is to avoid doing a compulsion during or just have the exposure. Doing so will render the exposure ineffective. After you do a couple of exposures you will notice a pattern. Your anxiety will surge, peak, and then decline. You may need to do an exposure more than once. Rate your anxiety prior to the exposure and after. You will find that your max anxiety will decrease. If your post exposure anxiety is 4 or above, that means you have to repeat it. Its also best to start slow and work your way up.
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anxietypoops
- Date posted
- 22w
The RP in ERP
Hi! I've been on my OCD healing journey for about half a year and I have seen a lot of success. I'm reaching out for advice, I am very willing to do exposures because I know the more I do them, the more I get better, but I struggle with the response prevention part. I don't know how to control my brain when it comes to facing the fears especially since most of my compulsions are mental. I can tell myself the typical things "I am okay with the uncertainty of this happening", etc. but its like my brain doesn't believe them. I've been stuck in this disconnect for a while and would love advice you have heard from a therapist or learned that has really help you.
thatusername...
- Date posted
- 22w
How do I practice exposure for mental compulsions?
My NOCD therapist (who has been awesome) and I are both struggling to identify ways in which I can practice exposure therapy while in-session, because the vast majority of my OCD symptoms are mental compulsions. For example: indecision and inability to commit to a choice; seeking reassurance on decisions from friends and family; mental review of things that have just happened / social situations; over-thinking and catastrophizing. I also have some other hallmark symptoms (contamination fears, moral scrupulosity, etc) but those tend to be inconsistent too. It’s hard to really practice these during my sessions because so many are in the moment and fleeting. By the time I join my session they are no longer active. How can we establish exposure responses during my sessions, if most of my OCD involves mental rumination and overthinking patterns/thought loops that only occur “in the moments - rather than specific or consistent compulsions (such as hand washing)?
hannah_77
- Date posted
- 21w
Does anyone know how to make the thoughts weaker?
How do people start practicing erp on their own? Because I tried yesterday, and it helped for like two hours, but it always comes back and scares me. I don’t think i can practice it the right way without help.
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