- Date posted
- 6y ago
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I agree these are tough, especially when you feel you have a rational reason behind it! The most effective way is to at some point get so fed up and angry at the OCD or doubt or whatever it is that you just accept the uncertainty. You can start small, use a ton of self compassion in your journey. We must walk through the fire only to turn around and realize there was never any danger in the first place!
- Date posted
- 6y ago
How did you cope with rational (albeit catastrophised) anxieties intermingling with OCD? For example I've always had contamination OCD, but a few years ago I was misdiagnosed for a physical illness and ended up with permanent irreversible health problems as a result. I now suffer a lot of anxiety about my personal safety out of fear of getting injured or sick and having the same thing happen. So there's a reasonable cause to an extent, but that anxiety is now tightly woven with my contamination OCD and any time I make strides with ERP, the other anxiety undoes it again
- Date posted
- 6y ago
How did you start to accept uncertainty? I am finding this so hard, and almost avoiding the topic altogether. I am terrified about the outcome. Some background is that I have rocd and I guess I'm scared once I accept uncertainty the thoughts and feelings might be true and I'm struggling to overcome this. Any help would be massively appreciated as I want to start my road to recovery asap but fear I can't
- Date posted
- 6y ago
You’ll have to at some point decide for yourself you are so goddamn sick of this garbage disorder that you are motivated and willing to overcome it
- Date posted
- 6y ago
In the same token, be very forgiving and kind to yourself! Having this crap is hard enough and we often put ourselves down without even realizing it!
- Date posted
- 6y ago
I am fed up with it. I want to overcome it with all my being, I just am still so scared. But yeah you're right I think it's hard to be kind to ourselves
- Date posted
- 6y ago
If you’ve tried everything else, try to accept the fear! You’re not in this alone, I know how hard it is because I still struggle but Exposure work has helped! You can do it!!
- Date posted
- 6y ago
Thank you (: I will give it a go!
Related posts
- Date posted
- 19w ago
Hi everyone. I'm feeling kinda scared because I have to wait a whole month to start ERP therapy, but I feel like I need to start doing exposures now because the longer I wait, the more anxiety I get. It just feels like the OCD monster is getting worse. One thing that helps me is asking one person about an obsession I have...asking a person that I trust, and then doing an exposure after I get the "ok" to do it. I feel like I do need 1 reassurance and then I can go ahead and do it. I know i'm not supposed to ask for reassurance at all, but i dont think you're supposed to do ERP on your own right? Does anyone have any suggestions for what to do while waiting for therapy? PS-the reason there is a wait is bc she's on vacation. After she's back we will meet regularly.
- Date posted
- 11w ago
Hi guys! I’m new to the community and I’ve recently received my OCD diagnosis (tho I’ve known about it since childhood). I’ve been somewhat spiraling lately as I wait for my first ERP session (hooray!) I was just wondering if any of you guys have received ERP for existential OCD and if it was successful? My existential OCD compulsions are more so mental and have been affecting me in the sense of dream/memory flashbacks and giving me a sort of “uncanny” feeling about everything around me. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you❤️
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 11w ago
December 14, 2024, marked two years since my first ERP therapy session with my NOCD therapist, Mixi. And October 2024 marked a year of being free from OCD. It was not an easy journey, confronting my fears face to face. Exposing myself to the images and thoughts my brain kept throwing at me, accepting that I might be the worst mother, that my daughter wouldn’t love me, and that I deserved to be considered a bad person. It was challenging having to say, “Yes, I am those things,” feeling the desire to run, but realizing the thoughts followed me. At the start of my therapy, I remember feeling like I couldn’t do this anymore. Life felt unbearable, and I felt so weak. I longed for a time before the OCD, before the flare-ups, before the anxiety, the daily panic attacks. I thought I’d never be myself again. But I now know that ERP saved my life. The first couple of sessions were tough. I wasn’t fully present. I lied to my therapist about what my actual thoughts were, fearing judgment. I pretended that the exposures were working, but when the sessions ended, I went back to not sleeping, constantly overwhelmed by fear and anxiety. But my therapist never judged me. She made me feel safe to be honest with her. She understood OCD and never faltered in supporting me, even when I admitted I had been lying and still continued my compulsions. My biggest milestone in therapy was being 100% transparent with my therapist. That was when real change began. At first, I started small—simply reading the words that terrified me: "bad mom," "hated," "unloved." Then, I worked on listening to those words while doing dishes—not completely stopping my rumination, but noticing it. Just 15 minutes, my therapist said. It wasn’t easy. At one point, I found myself thinking, “Will I ever feel like myself again?” But I kept pushing through. Slowly, I built tolerance and moved to face-to-face exposures—sitting alone with my daughter, leaning into the thought that my siblings might die, reading articles about my worst fears, and calling myself the things I feared. Each session was challenging, but with time, the thoughts started to lose their grip. By my eleventh session, I started to realize: OCD was here, and it wasn’t going away, but I could keep living my life despite it. I didn’t need to wait for it to be quiet or go away to move on. Slowly, it began to quiet down, and I started to feel like myself again. In fact, I am not my old self anymore—I’m a better version. OCD hasn’t completely disappeared, but it’s quieter now. Most of the time, it doesn’t speak, and when it does, I know how to handle it. The last session with my therapist was emotional. I cried because I was finishing therapy. I remember how, in the beginning, I cried because I thought it was just starting—because I was overwhelmed and terrified. But at the end, I cried because I was sad it was ending. It felt like I had come so far, and part of me wasn’t ready to say goodbye, even though I had already learned so much. It was a bittersweet moment, but I knew I was walking away stronger, equipped with the tools to handle OCD on my own. If I could change anything about my journey, it would be being open and honest from the beginning. It was the key to finding true healing. The transparency, the honesty—it opened the door to lasting change. I’m no longer that person who was stuck in constant panic. I’m someone who has fought and survived, and while OCD still appears from time to time, I know it doesn’t define me. I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments. Have you started therapy, is something holding you back? Is there something you want to know about ERP therapy? I'll be live in the app answering each and every one today from 6-7pm EST. Please drop them below!
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