Belle91
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Lms526Lms526
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Talk therapy doesn't work for OCD. Prior to realizing I had OCD, I did about 10 years off and on of therapy with several different therapists. I did everything I was supposed to, but never made an progress. ERP is not fun or easy, but it works and will change your life. I made more progress in 3 weeks doing ERP than I ever did in talk therapy. The key to ERP is starting slow and gradually working up. Also, not doing a compulsion during or just after an exposure. The hardest part is when your anxiety is going crazy. It feels like an eternity, but its only a few minutes. Then your anxiety will peak and start to decline. It also helps if you can channel your rage and anger about OCD into ERP. I read a really good book about ERP. Its called Daring to Challenge Your OCD by Dr. Joan Davidson. She does a good job of explaining ERP, how and why to do it, and also barriers that can hinder your progress. Available on Amazon. Good luck! You can do it!
OCD WarriorOCD Warrior
- Date posted
- 3y ago
I’m also doing talk therapy and while I feel good about talking about what I feel, I don’t think it’s been effective in alleviating my OCD symptoms. I’ve heard great things about ERP and people swear by it, so if you don’t think talk therapy is helping, maybe you should consider ERP. You can always back out if you think it’s making things worse. I hope things get better for you!
Belle91Belle91
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Thank you. I'm gonna try this. I'm determined to get rid of this or at least get control of it.
OCD WarriorOCD Warrior
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Good luck! Keep us posted. Rooting for you!
outdoormanoutdoorman
- Date posted
- 3y ago
So my best advice to you is- any thought your brain throws up at you, is bananas. Thoughts are like farts. They mean nothing. When you fart, it’s just your stomach doing natural digestion and the fart is the by product. When you have thoughts, just think of it as brain digestion, because that’s all it is. Your brain can throw up ANY thought and that’s perfectly fine! How we get into this mess is by performing compulsions to get rid of the “unwanted” thoughts, feelings and sensations we don’t like. When in reality we can experience ANY thought, feelings or sensation and still carry on what we value! You are not your farts or your thoughts!
Belle91Belle91
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Thank you!! This is great advice!
Belle91Belle91
- Date posted
- 3y ago
Thank you. I'm definitely gonna look for this book.
Related posts
EllieH95
- Date posted
- 23w ago
How do you do ERP without spiraling?
I have contamination OCD that causes me to excessively wash my hands/clean items with disinfectant wipes. I know I just need to start with small exposures but how do I do that without spiraling? I tried a while back by just touching the outside of my dishwasher and not washing my hands after and it led to me being unable to even exist in my house. I basically lived on my couch for three weeks as it was the only 'safe' space that I had not touched with my dirty hands. I had to take a week off work to clean my house to make it somewhat liveable. I still haven't got round to cleaning everything though so things like my kitchen are still no-go zones that I don't enter. I just don't know how to start ERP without it making everything worse. Any advice would be appreciated. I am not seeing a therapist at the moment due to financial constraints.
Freddy327
- Date posted
- 19w ago
Waiting for therapy
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.
carol.xxx
- Date posted
- 18w ago
flare up please respond
Hey guys, I am having the worst HARM OCD episode I have had in a while. I am having disgusting, awful intrusive thoughts about harming others. It feels so real. It feels as if I am about to get up and just do it. The worst bit about it all Is I know I feel distressed and panicked. But where the thoughts are actually happening ( in my head) doesnt feel this feeling. This is making it feel worse as it really does feel like Im just going to do it. I am crying my eyes out because I know im petrified and dont want to hurt anyone im so scared. I have this terrible intrusive feeling in my that feels like its justifying the thoughts. Please can someone talk as I am scared Im crying I dont want know what to do I want this feeling gone I am so scared. I tell myself Id kill myself before hurting anyone else, but would i ? What if I actually do want to kill Please respond Im so scared
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