- Username
- Ano333
- Date posted
- 3y ago
If you’re experiencing the memory as an intrusive thought, response prevention would include allowing the thought to be there and not engaging with it. Work on accepting your uncertainty about the memory and move on with whatever you need/want to do instead of doing compulsions. If you have any other compulsions related to the memory (like checking to see if people involved are OK), replace those compulsions with acceptance of uncertainty, too. Exposures could include writing and rereading a script about the memory, reading articles about similar situations, going to the place where the memory happened - whatever triggers your anxiety/distress and urge to do compulsions - without doing any compulsions during or after. I hope that’s clear and helpful. Good luck!
This helps a lot, thank you!
The E (exposure) is only half of ERP… the other half is response prevention. So the point of triggering the thought and experiencing the anxiety spike is giving yourself the opportunity to practice not-responding with a compulsion. So just looping through the cycle over and over isn’t the point… the idea is to break the trigger-emotion-thought-reaction cycle into its components and work with each part.
Yes. But don't try to neutralize the fear. Play it once. Sit with it, don't do anything, wait until it gets a tiny bit better and repeat. Over and over. Until it gets easier
I’ll try! Thank you!
How can I do ERP with real event OCD? I feel like it doesn't work to say "it could happen" because it already happened! Any suggestions?
If I'm understanding ERP correctly, it's not doing ANYTHING that would help soothe you, right? In my case I'll have a thought > usually I'll have my husband check things for me, if no-one is around to check things for me, I'll say to myself (in my head or out-loud) "I would never do xyz" "I didn't even get up from where I was, if I did I would've remembered walking to and from" (just examples). These are all compulsions, right? So I can't even mentally soothe myself. If I'm going to do ERP correctly, how do y'all stop the mental compulsions?
For those how have done ERP how do you deal with the intrusive thoughts?
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