ERP

[Nikki79]

Hi guys I’ve been doing ERP every day now a few times a day but today I fell into some ruminating and I the images that feel familiar to me that are in my ERP really scared me so much today. Just looking for some advice and guidance please and what to do now. 

[ivybasil]

Hi Nikki, it's great that you've been doing ERP! It's okay to be scared.  What do you think you should do now? I'm not saying I won't offer advice too, but I think in this case the best advice will come from you! Imagine I had asked this question - what would you suggest to me?

I think the important thing is to remember that you are doing the right thing with ERP and that thoughts and images have no power over you.  

[bahiano]

Hey Nikki,

To me the purpose of ERP is to bring on the anxiety and once it´s there let it subside without doing any compulsion so the brain can learn from that experience.

It would be good to rate your anxiety from 1 to 10 before ERP, right after ERP and them like 15 mins after ERP. By doing this you can track your anxiety levels.

Remember: The goal of ERP is NOT to get rid of obsessive thoughts or images, goal is to accept them and getting habituated

Edited August 31, 2021 by bahiano
Edit

[Nikki79]

6 hours ago, ivybasil said:

Hi Nikki, it's great that you've been doing ERP! It's okay to be scared.  What do you think you should do now? I'm not saying I won't offer advice too, but I think in this case the best advice will come from you! Imagine I had asked this question - what would you suggest to me?

I think the important thing is to remember that you are doing the right thing with ERP and that thoughts and images have no power over you.  

Thanks Ivybasil. I would like to say to myself that no matter how upsetting or real it feels these images are that tell me I did a b or c, they are just more images, feelings, thoughts or whatever. There still isn’t proof I did anything yet Ivybasil my brain wants to examine these thoughts to know for sure. I feel sad and condused today and frustrated that I let myself ruminate and now I feel stuck. 

 

[Caramoole]

That's a bit like saying eating a biscuit ruined your diet, so there's no point in bothering anymore.  So you ruminate, everyone does but just write it off, get back on track and keep going forward with your ERP.  Well done, keep going and don't be too tough on yourself.  Give yourself some credit

[ivybasil]

18 hours ago, Nikki79 said:

Thanks Ivybasil. I would like to say to myself that no matter how upsetting or real it feels these images are that tell me I did a b or c, they are just more images, feelings, thoughts or whatever. There still isn’t proof I did anything yet Ivybasil my brain wants to examine these thoughts to know for sure. I feel sad and condused today and frustrated that I let myself ruminate and now I feel stuck. 

 

I think that's some great advice - those thoughts and feelings don't have to mean anything  

@Caramooleis right - be kind to yourself! Think about the things you did well here: you identified that you were ruminating, you're still doing the ERP, you asked for support when you needed it, you have been able to say that they are just thoughts, not proof. Consider all of this the healthy meals in Caramoole's biscuit analogy.  They don't disappear because you ate the biscuit! 

Sometimes you might catch yourself ruminating, but the key thing is you could identify it for what it is! You can do this! 

 

[Nikki79]

7 hours ago, Caramoole said:

That's a bit like saying eating a biscuit ruined your diet, so there's no point in bothering anymore.  So you ruminate, everyone does but just write it off, get back on track and keep going forward with your ERP.  Well done, keep going and don't be too tough on yourself.  Give yourself some credit

Thanks Caramoole and may I say it’s so nice to hear from you as always. Jeesh I was awake after some disturbing dreams last night but I’m still trying to get up and on with it and as you say give myself some credit. 

[Nikki79]

1 hour ago, ivybasil said:

I think that's some great advice - those thoughts and feelings don't have to mean anything  

@Caramooleis right - be kind to yourself! Think about the things you did well here: you identified that you were ruminating, you're still doing the ERP, you asked for support when you needed it, you have been able to say that they are just thoughts, not proof. Consider all of this the healthy meals in Caramoole's biscuit analogy.  They don't disappear because you ate the biscuit! 

Sometimes you might catch yourself ruminating, but the key thing is you could identify it for what it is! You can do this! 

 

Thanks mate you are so kind and supportive! I have to say I had a disturbing dream last night and I always worry then if I went into my child whilst having the dream etc. it’s pretty rotten isn’t it but it’s more of the same thoughts/ dreams that I shouldn’t put meaning on. I think this concept is only starting to properly sink in with me Ivy. 

[ivybasil]

2 hours ago, Nikki79 said:

Thanks mate you are so kind and supportive! I have to say I had a disturbing dream last night and I always worry then if I went into my child whilst having the dream etc. it’s pretty rotten isn’t it but it’s more of the same thoughts/ dreams that I shouldn’t put meaning on. I think this concept is only starting to properly sink in with me Ivy. 

It's much more difficult to put it into practise than to say it, I find!  Once I've started obsessing about the thought it's so much harder to take a step back. You're right though - it's definitely more of the same! I've seen a few people and books recommend trying to acknowledge the thought like 'Oh, there's that thought again' and then you're not trying to just ignore it, but just not giving it any importance. 

I'm trying to think of it like training my puppy  He's a nervous reactive dog, and I was told not to react to things that scare him and then he'll stop giving them as much attention too. If I can stay calm when my OCD is going 'LOOK AT THIS REACT TO THIS WHAT DOES THIS MEAN' then I'll be doing okay. 

[Nikki79]

30 minutes ago, ivybasil said:

It's much more difficult to put it into practise than to say it, I find!  Once I've started obsessing about the thought it's so much harder to take a step back. You're right though - it's definitely more of the same! I've seen a few people and books recommend trying to acknowledge the thought like 'Oh, there's that thought again' and then you're not trying to just ignore it, but just not giving it any importance. 

I'm trying to think of it like training my puppy  He's a nervous reactive dog, and I was told not to react to things that scare him and then he'll stop giving them as much attention too. If I can stay calm when my OCD is going 'LOOK AT THIS REACT TO THIS WHAT DOES THIS MEAN' then I'll be doing okay. 

You will mate and you have a great understanding of it. When your OCD is screaming at you it’s pretty hard to not react but it can be done.