ERP

I love having someone who understands my brain, but it's so hard sometimes too. I am on hour 5 of resisting compulsively texting her, after receiving a barrage of compulsive texts from her and two compulsive calls. She knew what was happening and was trying really hard to resist, and I think she was eventually successful. But I am still having wave after wave of what-ifs about her safety. Logically I know she's probably asleep, but of course that does nothing for the doubts. For hour one I just handwrote a journal entry to her, and I thought that did it, but the compulsion keeps coming back. I wonder if I should just throw myself fully into an exposure session and try to speed up the process of no longer feeling like trash, but it's so late and I should have been asleep an hour ago (dr appointment, office hours, and lab meeting tomorrow, good lord), so maybe I should just rawdog it until I fall asleep. When the thoughts are so bad that I keep involuntarily hyperventilating for short periods, I don't know if an exposure would help or hurt.

I have however come up with a fun strategy: pretending that her compulsive texts are actually attempts to type out whale vocalizations. It removes the focus from the content of the messages and makes it easier for me to resist reassuring her and instead do/say things that are actually helpful (which is sometimes doing nothing). It's hard when it's relationship OCD-related, like today, because I automatically want to take it seriously and personally, but the silliness of imagining that all those texts are just like OOOOOoooaaauauuuuUu whale noises does kind of help.

#ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #ERP #ROCD #copingstrategies #Sleep #HarmOCD #Relationships #Autism #CheckInWithMe

Do ERP therapists treating someone with OCD use ALL of the techniques that come with ERP or do they use techniques that fit best with the patient because some techniques don’t really make sense with some compulsions? #MentalHealth #Anxiety #ERP

themighty.com/2022/02/ocd-intrusive-thoughts-loved-ones-die-...

If you have OCD and are interesting in learning more about Exposure Response Prevention (ERP), the #1 treatment for OCD, check out my new article! Feel free to comment or message me with any questions about it and I'd be happy to share my experience :)

#ERP #OCD #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #Therapy

I'm now in week three of actually doing exposures for my ERP therapy. The first couple weeks we focused on less serious obsessions about rust, but yesterday we dove into something much more bothersome: my violent intrusive images. The gross scary picture I had to look at has come into my mind a few times already, and I am doing my best to lean into the uncertainty, I really am. But I don't know if I have the strength to do it by myself without getting swallowed up by the fear and despair. Even when I haven't been thinking about it, I have just felt so exhausted all day today and yesterday. I'm randomly crying and I can't focus very well. I know that it has to suck before it helps, but I don't know how to tell if this is productive distress tolerance or unproductive wallowing in bad feelings. Anyone else who is doing or has done ERP, how do you tell if you're properly leaning into uncertainty and tolerating the associated pain, and when you've taken on an exposure that is too much at the moment and is just overwhelming you with pain? #OCD #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #ERP #exposureresponseprevention #Therapy #IntrusiveThoughts #Dissociation

#ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder
I've had OCD since early childhood, with emetophobia and agoraphobia as a result, and just started intensive ERP therapy. My anxiety during exposures has come out as more depressive - urges to self harm or suicidal ideation instead of panic. I wasn't expecting it, and my therapist is aware and supportive, but it's just caught me off guard. Has anyone else experienced this when exposed? Any ways to get through it? #ERP #MixedEpisodes #OCD #Emetophobia #Selfharm #SuicidalIdeation

I’m starting exposure and response prevention therapy next week. I’m both excited and nervous. Have any of you gone through ERP therapy? Did it work for you? #Anxiety #ObsessiveCompulsiveDisorder #ERP #Therapy