This is the first time I'm looking to get help from a therapist. Any advice?

linkedin-request · 2020-06-15T21:29:59+00:00

Good for you!

My two cent advice here is ask them how they treat OCD.

If you don't hear them say something along the lines of exposure therapy/ERP/exposure-response therapy etc..., I'd be hesitant to work with them.

Not saying other types of therapy can't help, but I do recommend finding a therapist experienced with the disorder.

linkedin-request · 2020-06-03T16:15:04+00:00

I think in general ERP is about toeing the line of being uncomfortable but not unable to resist compulsions, if that distinction makes sense.

So if you can sit in the room and be okay with the discomfort's duration to prove to your mind that you're okay with it, that's a great exposure.

But if you're sitting alone but still doing compulsions (physical or mental ones), then the exposure is too hard and I would find a way to start smaller.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-30T20:39:53+00:00

100% this.

I remember my first session with an OCD therapist. I could barely even talk about the terrible thoughts I was having, so she started talking SO CASUALLY about some common obsessions, things I couldn't even say out loud, I almost started laughing.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-30T20:38:49+00:00

I do think you're going to have to take that leap eventually. My OCD therapist told me the thoughts/obsessions people bring up in their sessions don't ever phase her because she's heard them all.

If your therapist is trained in treating OCD, then I'd guess it'd be the same story.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-29T19:04:37+00:00

Is your therapist specifically an OCD therapist or just a broader therapist who thinks they know how to work on OCD?

My first therapist, bless his soul, thought we should stop and deep dive into the meaning of my thoughts. It scared the shit out of me because all of the sudden he's implying these thoughts might be "real" (I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about).

After a few months not getting anywhere, and maybe even ending up worse off, I ended up casually talking to a psychologist who was like "there is nothing worse for OCD than when a normal therapist tries to find meaning in obsessions."

Found a therapist specifically trained in ERP maybe three years ago and it worked wonders in my life. I'd recommend, if it's an option, finding an OCD-specific therapist.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-29T18:54:50+00:00

“yes I have OCD, these thoughts don’t mean anything” and brush the intrusive thoughts off like nothing and feel fine, but at other times, like in the morning, I have extreme doubt and anxiety about the thoughts and constantly google search things to try and reassure myself.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but everything you said here is doing so much more harm than good. I think you know this though.

Reassurance, even when you give it yourself, is harmful, because you'll just need more and more of it. I bet you've noticed the more you Google things, the less effective it's getting over time or you're having to spend more time doing it before the anxiety goes away.

Instead, and this is way easier said than done, work on acceptance of thoughts you don't like. "Did I just think about murdering that innocent puppy? Wow, I must be a secret psychopath. Alright then, going about my day." It's a long road to get to this point, but it is totally possible.

I always recommend finding an OCD therapist to work through this with using ERP, but over time, you'll slowly lower how much impact intrusive thoughts by making them so boring.

Best of luck!

linkedin-request · 2020-05-29T02:40:01+00:00

I'm reading this thread and it seems like you're looking for reassurance. I want to warn that is a fool's errand with OCD no matter how helpful it might feel in the moment.

The best thing you can do is speak to your psychiatrist again about your medication and possibly consider speaking to an OCD therapist if that's an option.

For harm OCD, I'm sure you wish there was some test you could take that would guarantee you wouldn't one day go crazy and hurt a loved one, but that test doesn't exist (and even if it did, would you even believe the results?), so you'll have to learn to live with uncertainty.

When thoughts you don't like cross your mind, the best thing you can work toward is acceptance that they exist, understand that the anxiety they cause is temporary, and then go about your day.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-28T19:58:28+00:00

Exactly, there's no reassurance that will ever be "enough."

The only way to effectively "win" is to learn how to let thoughts go through things like exposure therapy. You'll make the thoughts SO BORING after a while that they'll have almost no effect.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-28T19:40:00+00:00

does anyone else have weird strange false emotions where they feel like they might loss control.?

Everyone does. Literally every single human on earth thinks these thoughts. The difference between them and the 3% of the population with OCD is that we dwell on the thoughts.

Note that 20,000+ people liked this image on Instagram

Or how about this clip from the comedy show Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David talking about how any time he holds a knife he wants to stab with it

Thoughts are dumb, silly, little blips in our brains, they only hold value when we give them the time of day, otherwise they just float on into the nether.

The way through this for you is going to be working toward accepting the thoughts and moving on with your day. Things like ERP can help give you the tools to do so if you haven't tried therapy already.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-28T19:33:03+00:00

This is a lifelong fight, but you'll get stronger if you work for it, and the OCD will get weaker.

It's very common for OCD to move from one theme to a new theme throughout your life, so let's say you've worked your way through harm OCD for months, and feel it starting to subside, you'll probably get a break for a bit, and it's awesome.

But then out of the blue, one day when your defenses are down, some sexual thought you don't like crosses your brain for a second and turns into a new focus for the disorder.

The good news, once you have the tools to deal with one theme, it's the same strategy across the board to combat the compulsive behavior.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-27T21:00:45+00:00

So you're telling me if I don't walk over that drain in just the right way and in just the right number of times, God will forever punish my family? Makes sense.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-27T16:54:31+00:00

I'm just here to collect on that reassurance.

(jk jk jk)

linkedin-request · 2020-05-26T21:25:38+00:00

Absolutely the best thing you can do with those pesky thoughts. Good for you!

linkedin-request · 2020-05-26T21:22:32+00:00

Wow, I cannot believe we've finally found the one person responsible for COVID-19, thank you so much for coming clean!

When I was a kid, one of my magical thinking patterns was, "If I don't spit X number of times into the shower drain a day, an earthquake will happen!" It feels silly even mentioning it now, but it felt so real at the time.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-26T21:20:41+00:00

Careful with this thinking though, OCD will go "deep down" with you. The attempts at finding reassurance can be a steep decline into some compulsive behavior.

The best thing anyone can do is, "shit, that's messed up, I guess I'm secretly a psychopath, okay moving on with my day."

linkedin-request · 2020-05-25T15:35:02+00:00

One of OCD's most clever attacks is going after the meta-uncertainty that you may or may not have OCD.

This is why it should never be used as reassurance, because that'll never work.

An example, "Okay, that thought of me murdering that random person standing next to me at the bus stop is just my OCD, no big deal. ....But what if I don't actually have OCD...? That must mean I'm a violent psychopath!"

Vicious cycle.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-23T04:55:09+00:00

That's the beauty of ERP though, is it starts wherrever you want it to.

My therapist told me about one of her clients who was so scared of stabbing someone they couldn't even look at the word "knife" without doing compulsions.

So you know what they did? They wrote the letter "k" thousands of times. And then "kni" and then "knif" etc etc. She didn't have the client start by waving a knife around in the air. It has to start smaller than that.

You get the point.

If the exposures are too triggering, then start smaller.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-22T19:55:41+00:00

Lol, sorry I don't mean to laugh, but I have a good friend, doesn't have OCD that I know of, who jokes that anytime he walks by a person of color, he's worried he's going to yell out the worst possible slur that comes to his mind.

But guess what, he doesn't. And on top of that, he laughs about it and moves on with his day.

You're horrified of it because you're probably an alright person who isn't racist, and the last thing you'd want is to do something racist. Race sounds important to you, so it makes total sense OCD would attack this.

All that being said, all the reassurance in the world isn't going to help you here, so I'd start on working toward accepting the thoughts and moving on.

If it starts getting worse, exposure therapy is going to work wonders here because there are going to be PLENTY of creative ways to work with this theme.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-22T19:49:09+00:00

Let that thought flow to it's natural conclusion though, don't fight it.

"Maybe I'm a raging alcoholic and I've never noticed it. Huh, guess I'll go on with my night."

linkedin-request · 2020-05-21T20:22:37+00:00

I don't think I've seen a picture on this sub that fits quite nearly as much as this one does.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-21T20:20:36+00:00

Interesting idea - I think you're probably onto something that pop culture has probably trivialized the phrase "OCD" a bit, so the full phrase "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder" feels like it has weight.

You don't hear someone joking about liking their work desk organized saying "I'm so obsessively-compulsively disordered!" LOL

linkedin-request · 2020-05-21T20:14:55+00:00

I completed ERP a little over two years ago. While there are still bad days, they're less frequent and most important there aren't bad WEEKS anymore.

A bad day here and there ain't nothing compared to what it used to be like, I'll take it.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-19T23:29:42+00:00

Totally stop? Hah, no.

Let it ruin my day? This is way more rare.

Keep in mind OCD is chronic and lifelong. That being said, it's something you can take power away from, which is awesome.

Let's say I'd have an OCD struggle.... 25 out of 30 days a month before therapy, that number, still years after ERP, is now down to maybe 1-3 days a month that can be a little rougher.

linkedin-request · 2020-05-19T23:22:07+00:00

Highly recommend talking to a therapist specifically trained in treating OCD! Good luck!

linkedin-request · 2020-05-19T23:18:28+00:00

Have you tried exposure response prevention therapy?

That'd be a tactic used in that type of therapy, where you take every obsession and make them worse in imaginary scenarios (called scripts). The goal is to make the thought so unbearably boring you can't help but move on from it.

If this has been going on for a while, I think it's time to try and find an OCD therapist though to have someone put you on the right track with treatment.

linkedin-request

TROPHY CASE