K.D. Holmes Blog

Have you ever had a thought that just keeps popping up in your head? These kinds of thoughts can be images, phrases, even feelings that intrude upon an otherwise perfect moment. These intrusions are not hidden desires or even thoughts the sufferer wants to think. They just pop on in your head and terrify the suffer. In Obsessive Compulsive Disorder they get stuck, and play on repeat in your mind. Because once isn't terrifying enough, let's play that thought again and again, and compulsively check if it is still there.

I began working with individuals who had OCD about 10 to 12 years ago... I have gotten lost in time and forgotten how long it has been exactly. I came upon the diagnosis unknowingly when I could not diagnose someone. I was stumped and anything that baffles me sparks my curiosity. 

Many of the individuals I work with (myself included) are plagued by an obsessive brain. Obsessive brains are repetitive, stuck, living in a rabbit hole of thinking that leads to nowhere but feels real to the sufferer.  These individuals are often diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which is composed of obsessions followed by compulsions.  

Many of my clients ask what ERP stands for?  Exposure Response Prevention sounds so formal and technical.  Simply put, it is a process that creates ORDER out of mental CHAOS. It works by systematically facing your obsessions while abstaining from your compulsions. ERP is helpful when combined with lots of other skills.