For those of you doing CBT and ERP... - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Message Board

Rsspro18 · 02-14-2004, 09:57 AM

What are some of the types of anxiety you feel when you engage in response prevention? For example when you don't do your compulsions, or for mental rituals, when you flood the thought or don't change it. What are some of the anxiety or distressing symptoms, feelings, or thoughts like?

I usually get this very weird on edge feeling like things just aren't right. I also sometimes get intense anxiety attacks or panic attacks sometimes, which might feature difficultly breathing, gagging, lightheadedness, etc. and of course I worry that whatever I am trying to prevent or am worried about will happen. It (The anxiety) subsides eventually but it's tough sometimes. Just wondering how other people do with it.

Porto guy · 02-14-2004, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rsspro18

What are some of the types of anxiety you feel when you engage in response prevention? For example when you don't do your compulsions, or for mental rituals, when you flood the thought or don't change it. What are some of the anxiety or distressing symptoms, feelings, or thoughts like?

I usually get this very weird on edge feeling like things just aren't right. I also sometimes get intense anxiety attacks or panic attacks sometimes, which might feature difficultly breathing, gagging, lightheadedness, etc. and of course I worry that whatever I am trying to prevent or am worried about will happen. It (The anxiety) subsides eventually but it's tough sometimes. Just wondering how other people do with it.

I have 2 types of obcessions/compulsions: The ones that I feel hard to quit and the ones that I just CANT quit. The ones of the first type give me the feeling you described "things just aren`t right, confusion...The ones I cant quit...well...If I have to travel for 1 day n cant do those I just get the feeling that everything is ruined and that I ve losted part of my life forever! Bad like that. Only to think I may have to stop doing it someday makes me get very depresed(even a bit suicidal)...so I avoid doing it. Fortunetely I can usuly avoid those thoughts, but I have to mantein my head busy(with more rituals) in order to.

Im in no therapy but felt like answering anyway, hope u dont mind.

fm5 · 02-14-2004, 12:09 PM

I usually get this very weird on edge feeling like things just aren't right. I also sometimes get intense anxiety attacks or panic attacks sometimes, which might feature difficultly breathing, gagging, lightheadedness, etc. and of course I worry that whatever I am trying to prevent or am worried about will happen. It (The anxiety) subsides eventually but it's tough sometimes. Just wondering how other people do with it.

Actually your symptoms are quite normal when doing response prevention. Eventually they too will go away. It may take months though, but it is well worth it.

billy7772 · 02-15-2004, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fm5

I usually get this very weird on edge feeling like things just aren't right. I also sometimes get intense anxiety attacks or panic attacks sometimes, which might feature difficultly breathing, gagging, lightheadedness, etc. and of course I worry that whatever I am trying to prevent or am worried about will happen. It (The anxiety) subsides eventually but it's tough sometimes. Just wondering how other people do with it.

Actually your symptoms are quite normal when doing response prevention. Eventually they too will go away. It may take months though, but it is well worth it.

I agree with fm5

My symptoms were exactly like you describe during response prevention but like fm5 states they subsided over time and the effort was well worth it

I would also emphasize (like my group leader emphasized) that you need to do the other exercises in CBT too and not just the response prevention ones. I found countering my thoughts in the TEA form to be extremely useful as once I began to counter all the thoughts I caught during response prevention my progress accellerated!

Good luck Rsspro and stick with it

Billy

fm5 · 02-15-2004, 12:18 PM

I found countering my thoughts in the TEA form to be extremely useful as once I began to counter all the thoughts I caught during response prevention my progress accellerated!

Question: What is TEA and can you give an example? Just wondering. Maybe it is something I can also do if I am not already doing it.