Taboo Tuesday 2-21-23

[Anxiouslybalanced]

It’s time for Taboo Tuesday! I am Krista Reed OCD specialist in Wichita, KS and IOCDF advocate here to give you 90 seconds of taboo only topics!Let’s continue with this month’s theme: Fear of suicide and/or harm to self 

Last week I discussed compulsions, curious about what that means- read last weeks’ post to learn more. today I will be sharing some in vivo (real life) exposures that individuals in treatment may practice.  These exposures are tangible and/or done behaviorally.  Exposures are typically done best when they are valued based- its all about the client getting their life back!

Fear of driving your car into a river or lake? Go out for a Sunday afternoon drive around any body of water! Fear of jumping from a high building? Visit a high place in your town or city- maybe it can be a tourist attraction like the Statue of Liberty or Willis Tower! Fear of drinking something poisonous? Eat dinner with your family and have a container of bleach on the table.  Fear of overdose? Keep a single pill in an unlocked medicine cabinet- because remember obsessions are ego dystonic and those with these obsessions do not actually wish to die, they are fearful they are going to be unsafe or reckless.  

Check out next week’s taboo Tuesday and learn about imaginal exposures!Remember- Stigma and shame die where communication and validation live ❤️

[lml885]

This never worked for my pregnancy obsession. Having intercourse only made it worse, and not having intercourse now I don’t worry about it as much. Themes change but exposure on this made me worry even more.

[Anxiouslybalanced in reply to lml885]

thank you for sharing and being vulnerable; I am sorry that you suffered. Treatment is not one size fits all and I hope you were able to find something that suited your needs and got you to the point of recovery.

[lml885 in reply to Anxiouslybalanced]

sadly I’ve tried everything from electric shock therapy to psilocybin and it has not worked.