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Sometimes in my office people are curious about me. Some ask what do I struggle with? There is an assumption that therapists do not struggle because of what they know. Knowing and doing are two different types of learning. I had an anxiety disorder for most of my life. I suffered from depression and anxiety when I was a child and young adult.
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 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.
Anxiety can be so debilitating that it interferes with daily tasks, moods, presence with loved ones, and ultimately, quality of life. It slowly erodes who a person is with physical and mental nagging.
Anyone who has a mind, that works like the above title, knows exactly what I am talking about.
