- Date posted
- 4y
- Date posted
- 4y
My counselor told me that if your ending anxiety is 4 or above, you need to do the exposure again. I usually have to do mine 3 or 4 times in a row before my anxiety gets low enough. But each time you do it, you peak anxiety will get longer. Also keep in mind that ERP is just like learning another language. Things will feel strange at first, but the more you practice, the better you get. A week is not long enough. Give it time.
- Date posted
- 4y
It happens with me as well quite often. The mood is not same everyday. I am also going through intrusive thoughts. And it gets too worse sometimes. But we all have to deal with it. So stay strong.
- Date posted
- 4y
Thank you so much. I just think mine is different because I am worrying what people think of me and if they think I am an awful person even though they helped me with my OCD years ago. But I guess it is how I feel about myself and nothing more. It is so very hard atm
- Date posted
- 4y
I too feel that no one other than me experience these kinds of worse intrusive thoughts which I experience. Last month, I experienced worst ocd thoughts for the entire week. I thought that I would never allow those thoughts to sit over me post that week. But another thought hit me after that week and Unlitimately nothing changed. OCD is very cunning so we must deal with it strongly. So just try to ignore those thoughts.
- Date posted
- 4y
Thank you my lovely. Yes we are all in the same boat. At the end of the day we are all far too kind and caring otherwise we wouldnt have this disorder. I hope you feel better xx
- Date posted
- 4y
Thank you. I just feel so bad today. I hate this disorder so much. I will keep going with the ERP but it is really tough today. When your anxiety goes down you still believe the thoughts though I suppose? This is what I am struggling with
- Date posted
- 4y
Everyone has intrusive thoughts. But people without OCD don't give them the weight and meaning we do. ERP has made a huge difference for me.
- Date posted
- 4y
@Lms526 How long have you been doing erp?
- Date posted
- 4y
I also think the same that mine ocd thoughts is quite different from others. I also feel that I am getting these intrusive thoughts more than anyone else. It's not about themes. OCD can strike against any theme.
- Date posted
- 4y
I think we all think our OCD is different from everyone elses. Everytime I have an episode I ask the same question....does anyone else have these kind of thoughts. I even asked my therapist from NOCD and she said she had loads of people who worried if others thought bad of them. It is a nightmare. I never thought this until a few weeks ago. And if i did i could dismiss it but not atm i cant
- Date posted
- 4y
You are welcome. I also hope that you do better with those thoughts and be happy. It would be great if we could join each other on watsapp or insta if you wish to.
- Date posted
- 4y
Okay. I have messaged you.
Related posts
- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 24w
I find while doing exposures, rarely does my anxiety lessen. It usually amps up and stays that way for the remainder of the day. I could be having a fairly decent day, but dutifully do my exposures and then the rest of my day is anxiety filled. I guess that’s just how it is now? Also, I’m wondering if my therapist even believes I have OCD. I totally understand my therapist cannot provide reassurance. But it’s to the point it seems my therapist acts like I actually did the thing I fear. I feel so isolated.
- Date posted
- 16w
So I've been working to address my OCD for about a month now. So far, I haven't been working on it with a therapist and have instead been trying to create my own exposure exercises. The primary obsession I'm working on is the fear that I'm somehow flawed or invalid on a fundamental level. The best way I can describe it it is that its similar to the feeling you get when you have germ OCD and you feel contaminated, except my whole existence and being feels contaminated, so to speak. I've identified a list of triggers, and a list of compulsions (pretty much all mental) that I've noticed myself performing. I started out by doing imaginal exposures and scripts where I'd write out triggering fictional scenarios and read them over and over, combined with mindfulness techniques to focus on my breath and bring myself back to the present when I noticed myself performing compulsions mentally. At first it worked to some extent, but eventually I started to feel like the stories I was writing about this obsession weren't triggering any anxiety anymore or a very low level. So I stopped reading them and focused solely on improving my ability to stay present and identifying compulsions as I perform them, and disengaging. Now, I'm at the point where it seems like my general anxiety levels throughout the day are lower, and the triggers I've identified are producing noticeably less anxiety. But that makes me wonder if somehow I'm just secretly doing mental compulsions without knowing it? Is only a month of rather disorganized and unstructured ERP enough to produce this much improvement? To avoid giving me re-assurance, I'd appreciate if you guys don't directly answer those questions, maybe just provide some possibilities or your own experiences so I can get a better idea of where I'm at. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!
- Date posted
- 13w
The past month or so I have been in and out of OCD spirals. I’ll have a couple days of spiraling and then a couple days of being better. Then a couple days spiraling and then a couple days doing better. Today is one of those days where I can feel the anxiety under the surface and where I am monitoring it to see/keep it in check. Yesterday I was good, I had good dialogue in my mind, I was content with making mistakes in the past, but being a better human and person these days going forward. I can feel the ebb and flow of it today where the anxiety spikes, my internal dialogue say “am I going to freak out”, “confess this”, “say that”, “don’t say that”, “I’m a bad person”, “I’m a good person that is learning and growing every day” etc etc. Then the anxiety comes down, my mind feels clearer, less noisy and less physical feeling, and I feel like I don’t care about the OCD and me as much. Just been feeling the ebbs and flows of OCD over the course of months and days, and even within the day itself.
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