Move closer to OCD fears! How to Seek Uncertainty

[ocdandanxiety]

You've probably heard me say, "Seek Uncertainty" but what does this really mean? You may think of this as a way to move closer to your OCD fear. This is exactly how exposure and response prevention works.⠀

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Let's go through how to move closer to your OCD fear or topic and lean in a little further.⠀

youtu.be/et8QxXwX6ts(Not working as expected?)

[davidovergoliath]

Hello. Ive watched your You Tube videos on OCD and have found them very helpful. I hope that I can ask your advice on something concerning something that or may not have happened in my past. I was clinically diagnosed with OCD 20 years ago and have been a sufferer of OCD for almost 40 years.

A little over a year ago, I decided to put myself in an uncomfortable position of reading to my 3 three young grand daughter on the couch in the living room. I had to on my lap and the other over my left shoulder as I read to them. Well, everything went fine until my one grand daughter, who was leaning over my shoulder, shifted and came closer to see the book. I had some panic set in, but I remained calm. Then, despicable mental images began to flash in my mind, but I was determined to battle through (ERP??). That's when it all back fired. Extreme panic set in, more horrible images. So what Im left with is horrible images in my mind of what might or could have happened and a tremendous LOAD of fear and guilt as if something had happened. I believe the thing that fully triggered it for me was that after my daughter, husband and our grand kids went home after lunch, I went to the bathroom and noticed that my zipper was already down. Oh no! I thought.. Why is this down?? The fact is I often forget to zip my fly when I dress, or visit the bathroom. Unfortunately, my brain interpreted this as something happened. In my panic at the time of reading to the girls, I DONT KNOW if anything happened, or didnt happen. I cant remember anything from the initial panic attack to be called for lunch.

I see a therapist and I am doing well at CBT and nuking thoughts. However, I have found that CBT is not much good targeting PAST events.

Any advise? Thoughts??

Ty

davidovergoliath

[ocdandanxiety in reply to davidovergoliath]

Hi! I'm so sorry for what you're going through. It sounds so painful. I'm not able to give advice on specific cases as it puts my license at risk. I can say when it comes to OCD, focusing on exposure and response prevention is better than challenging thoughts or just using CBT alone. I would say to make sure you have someone that specializes in OCD to help you. I typically look at iocdf.org