Does recovery from OCD have to be unpleasant?

[highlight]

Hi I have been trying some ERP today. I have to say whenever I try this or even just fail to do a compulsion I get very unpleasant anxiety. Does it always have to be this way? Or is the a more pleasant and effective way I can get better. As for medication I am on citalopram and have been for the past 3+ months. It has had maybe a subtle effect at best and no effect at worst. 

 

[SB21]

24 minutes ago, highlight said:

Hi I have been trying some ERP today. I have to say whenever I try this or even just fail to do a compulsion I get very unpleasant anxiety. Does it always have to be this way? Or is the a more pleasant and effective way I can get better. As for medication I am on citalopram and have been for the past 3+ months. It has had maybe a subtle effect at best and no effect at worst. 

 

Hi Highlight

I find that the higher up my hierarchy the compulsion is that I am trying to stop the worse the anxiety. Is there any way you can break it down further? E.g. I reduced hand washing by one each week rather than stopping straight away as it made me very ill. I also used timings to simplify other compulsions e.g. only doing for a set time or waiting a set time. I also had compulsions I could do when in company but not when alone to begin with etc. Although it takes longer to reach your targets it does make the anxiety a little more bearable.

I can't advise on your meds other than to say they work differently for different people, if you feel they are not working for you I would suggest seeing your GP. Maybe they can be increased or an alternative tried.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your recovery.

[Ashley]

37 minutes ago, highlight said:

Hi I have been trying some ERP today. I have to say whenever I try this or even just fail to do a compulsion I get very unpleasant anxiety. Does it always have to be this way? Or is the a more pleasant and effective way I can get better. As for medication I am on citalopram and have been for the past 3+ months. It has had maybe a subtle effect at best and no effect at worst. 

 

It depends... ERP without doing any cognitive work is going to be hard, arguably unpleasant.    

For me, I spent 6+ months planning my exposure work, petrified, anxious at the thought of it... but I worked on the cognitive side and then 6 months later when I attempted the ERP it wasn't too bad (once I had done it), the anxiety went in moments, literally 6 months of anxiety went in 1 or 2 minutes.   I think the reason being was because I had got my head around the problem and knew what I was doing, why I was doing and I was ready to do it.

Recovery will be hard, but if done correctly won't be unpleasant.... hard, a little anxiety provoking but not unpleasant. 

 

[taurean]

The simple answer is that there is no gain without pain! 

But the goal of the OCD is to render triggers innocuous, the "irrelevant nonsense"  that they appear to be to non-sufferers, and as we work through this process towards de-sensitisation, the anxiety should gradually ease off. 

So it's really short-term pain for long-term gain. 

[snowbear]

1 hour ago, highlight said:

Or is the a more pleasant and effective way I can get better.

I second Ashley's advice that doing the cognitive work so you know what you're doing and why makes the ERP a lot less traumatic. 

Some people waste a lot of time searching for a pleasant, easy way to get well, basically hoping to take away the discomfort of having OCD without changing how they do things; a magic pill that changes the world instead of them changing their thinking to fit in with reality. 

I'm not saying that's what you're seeking, Highlight. I'm just pointing out this pitfall for those that are still under the illusion there's an easy fix that doesn't require leaving your comfort zone. There isn't. But if you do the cognitive preparation, leaving your comfort zone can be empowering and liberating rather than scary.  

[PolarBear]

Recovery is not all chocolate and cute bunnies. It's hard work.

Does it have to be unpleasant? It's going to be as unpleasant as you make it. If I sat you down right now and started drilling your teeth, your anxiety would hit the roof. If I give you a full check up and explain you have a cavity and that it must be fixed or youll lose the tooth, youll accept what needs to be done and be far more willing to accept some discomfort now for a brighter future.

Same thing with ERP.  The cognitive side teaches you why you have to go through ERP and puts you in the right frame of mind. Will there be discomfort? There better be or you're doing something wrong. But it should be no more unpleasant than doing any of many tasks, like cleaning an oven or toilet.