- Date posted
- 3y
- Date posted
- 3y
Traditional talk therapy does not work for someone with OCD. It does more harm than good. You need to find a counselor who understands OCD and specializes in ERP. I've been where you are. I've had OCD since I was 8 and never knew thats what I was experiencing. OCD wasn't even on my radar until last month. I was diagnosed two weeks ago at age 45. ERP is terrifying and uncomfortable. Resisting the urge to do a compulsion is tough. But it works. My therapist through NOCD is amazing. I pay a $30 copay per session and the rest is covered 100% by my insurance. I've made more progress in 3 weeks than I have in about 10 years of talk therapy. It will take hard work, but recovery is possible. I'm not there yet, but I have made so much progress already.
- Date posted
- 3y
Thank you so much for this encouragement. I deeply appreciate it. I’m going to ask my counselor for her advice (if she knows someone who specializes or if she thinks I should just go through here) and I just have to trust that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you.
- Date posted
- 3y
While your main point here about ERP is valid, I would like to point out that EMDR is *not* traditional talk therapy. It's a more trauma focused tool that can be very helpful.
- Date posted
- 3y
It should make you feel better to know your not alone. I feel the same way as you do. Know that tomorrow is a new day, Your struggles will only make you stronger. 🙂
- Date posted
- 3y
EMDR saved my life honestly. It's not a bad thing to stick with it. But think of it like a different tool. EMDR is a wrench and ERP / OCD therapy is a hammer. Both of those tools can be of great help repairing your home. I just finished 4 years of EMDR recently and am using ERP to help fine tune things to get more healing. You've got this!
- Date posted
- 3y
Oh my goodness!! That is genius! Thank you so much for offering that piece of advice. I honestly thought I would have to choose one over the other. Thank you so so much.
- Date posted
- 3y
@anonymoose Not at all. Just understand that they both serve a purpose, and both can help you heal in different ways. This will hurt like hell, but you will be ever stronger for it. Genuinely wishing you well on your journey to healing and peace. You will find your way out of this hellscape!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 21w
I've been struggling with ocd since I was 7. I'm 18 now and it feels like the older I've gotten the worse it's gotten. I don't know how to deal with it and i feel so lost and alone. Its hard for me to even say what my intrusive thoughts are or to even fully acknowledge it to myself in my head because im scared that if i put it out in the world itll be true or if i acknowledge the thought it solidifies it and makes it true. i feel like im just over exaggerating what im feeling and im turning something that isnt there into something bigger which makes it hard to talk about it with other people. Especially because im not diagnosed but I know it's ocd but what if it isnt? What if im lying to myself or I'm just doing it to get attention and I don't realize it? I just try to deal with it on my own but it's so hard and feels impossible. I feel like ocd has contaminated every part of my life that I enjoy. The things that used to bring me comfort are now filled with things that trigger my ocd and bring me anxiety.
- Date posted
- 19w
Not sure what to say. Just that I am so tired of dealing with OCD - I’ve had it for most of my life and as a 40 something woman, I’m exhausted. I’m tired of being misunderstood and mistreated. I’m tired of seeing relationships that I have dwindle bc my friends and family are overwhelmed with my ruminations and reassurance. I’m embarrassed bc I overwhelm my friends and family with whom I’ve trusted my personal thoughts with and I keep thinking that they can help me through stuff only to be let down. I’ve yet to meet another mind like mines who is complicated but trying to survive because I have children and want to see them grow. I’m tired of feeling defeated because someone took advantage of me and my thoughts. It’s so exhausting but I’m ready to try this because I know I need help. Not sure if this is triggering I’m just ranting bc I’m so lost.
- Date posted
- 14w
Please help. I have felt so off/wrong all day. I constantly worry that the “bad guy” is going to get me. I have awful thoughts and I constantly want God to know that I don’t mean these thoughts. I am at a point in my therapy where I need to choose to use my ERP but it feels too scary. I then do compulsions, which makes the OCD worse, which makes me want to use ERP less. And the cycle goes on. I am currently sitting in my car crying because I feel so lost and exhausted. I’m not supposed to figure out my thoughts, but today I just went into a spiral of sadness and depression, thinking that I will always feel like this. When my thoughts got really bad at the end of the day, I tried to use ERP even though I was shaking and not believing my responses and I ended up feeling like I missed something and that I gave into the “bad guy.” I have no one to talk when I’m not doing therapy twice a week. I am alone and have no one to talk to when I am like this… please help
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