Bed Time

[tigerblossom55]

Tryna get to sleep is where most people have a problem, but with me the problem is getting into bed in the first place. I usually start my “night routine” pretty early, because I know that it’ll take me a looooong time to get ready for bed. All of my rituals before during and after my shower take about an hour or more. And then there’s all of those certain things I must check and double check, and then touch or count to ease my mind nothing “bad” will happen in my sleep. I wish I could just throw my pjs on, climb into bed, and fall asleep...all within 10 minutes or less. But that’s never how it is for me. Even changing into pyjamas and brushing my teeth are such a hassle. Every time I try walking away, or ignoring a thought, or not giving into my compulsions, I end up having to do every double to “make up” for even thinking about ignoring the initial thought. Does anybody else do this? I feel like some of the things I do everyday are soooo extreme and not many people with OCD talk about the same rituals or obsessions that I have.

[MothFir]

Have you ever tried ERP therapy for this? It would basically involve not giving in to the compulsions, then learning to tolerate the anxiety. Eventually you'd get used to it and your brain would learn that the compulsions are unnecessary and you wouldn't become anxious any more. ERP is difficult at first but is often very effective. A good therapist could help you come up with a plan for stopping compulsions that would be gradual and doable.

[DeathtoOCD]

ERP is a very good idea, I mean I had problems with putting my clothes on and brushing my teeth so you are not alone in that.