SunsetAquarius78
- Date posted
- 4y
AveryKatAveryKat
- Date posted
- 4y
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
- 4y
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
- 4y
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
- 4y
@AveryKat Thank you so much :)
Lms526Lms526
- Date posted
- 4y
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.
Related posts
Anonymouus
- Date posted
- 21w
How to avoid mental compulsions
My biggest is ruminating, i talk and talk and over share with myself and others Like what are some exposures?
Anonymous
- Date posted
- 19w
Compulsions during exposure sessions
When I catch myself doing compulsions mentally during exposure sessions, it seems alot of the time like the realization that I was just doing a compulsion is more distressing than the actual trigger I'm trying to expose myself to. It feels defeating having to admit the prompt at the end that I performed a compulsion yet again. I still think I've made progress overall, and generally speaking I don't think I'm performing compulsions as much as I used to, and my distress has also gone down noticeably (not completely) but exposure sessions have been kinda tricky for me from the beginning since its all mental. Additionally, I am a bit concerned that I could start using exposures to rid myself of anxiety rather than expose myself to it properly.
slippery_salad
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 14w
Bedtime exposure?
This one's a "what if" exposure; a way to trace the anxiety spiral and sit with the discomfort it brings, instead of trying to avoid or fix it. Here’s how it works: Start with your anxious thought: 1. “What if A happens?” Then go deeper: “Okay… if A happens, then what?” → “Then B.” 2. And again: “What if B happens?” → “Then C.” 3. Keep going (following the fear, not avoiding it) until you land on the core fear, the real root of the anxiety. It’s usually something sticky, existential, or deeply uncomfortable. 4. Once you’ve found it, stop. Now sit with it (the feeling). Notice how it shows up in your body. Where is the tension? The tightness? The urge to escape, fix, or seek reassurance? And just let it be there. Without trying to solve it. Just you, your body, and the fear; without resistance. This isn’t about fixing the fear. It’s about making room for it. It’s about learning that you can feel the fear and not let it control you.
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