Anxiety Relief is NOT the Goal of OCD Treatment

I think this is easily one of the hardest truths to swallow in OCD recovery.

We have been anxious for so long because of our thoughts and have spent so much time performing compulsions to quell the constant anxiety up to this point.

Treatment should mean I finally get to feel less anxious, right?

Unfortunately, it's not that easy.

Bear with me because I know this can feel like a cruel joke when you first hear it.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is the gold standard treatment for OCD. (Disclaimer: if a therapist claims to be a specialist but does not use ERP, they are not a specialist. And I would go to someone else asap.)

ERP is exactly what it sounds like: exposure to the stimuli that causes anxiety (intrusive thought) and then prevention of the conditioned response (the compulsion or ritual).

[Example: Touching a toilet seat to cause intrusive thoughts about contamination and then NOT doing the usual hand-washing ritual.]

Notice that no where in that example is 'reduce the anxiety associated with the thought' mentioned.

Because the more we try to push anxiety away, the stronger it comes back.

While it would be super nice for anxiety to go away after we have stopped using compulsions, that isn't always the case.

And in the same vein, you might still have all the same thoughts.

They MIGHT go away.

They MIGHT diminish.

They MIGHT stay exactly the same frequency, volume, content.

They MIGHT show up in new and creative ways (thanks, Brain).

They MIGHT be worse sometimes.

If your anxiety and your thoughts do diminish in recovery, you got lucky with a positive side effect for ERP!

A happy accident, if you will.

Regardless of whether you feel less anxious or not, after devoting the time and effort to ERP with your therapist, you won't have to give into OCD's commands to perform rituals anymore.

Because you'll be able to sit with the anxiety these thoughts bring up.

This is the intended effect for the treatment, the ability to live your life on your own terms WITH your anxiety.

Ask anyone in recovery from OCD and they will tell you that they still experience anxiety.

But they will also tell you that it does not run their life anymore.

So.

Will you feel better after you've gone through treatment for your OCD?

Yes. Well, probably! (We like to leave room for uncertainty on this blog.)

Because you will get so much of your life back.

And you will get to practice (and probably be pretty good at) giving yourself grace for all the missteps.

Not being ruled by constant compulsions alone will feel very different, and hopefully better.

Reducing or ridding yourself of the anxiety is not an important part of this process.

The most important part, as always, is showing up and doing the hard thing anyways.

And it will be hard, but you can do hard things.

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Note:

If you feel like you are struggling with these things to a degree that is affecting your life, it may be time to see a mental health professional, if you are not already!

If you are in crisis, call 911, the Suicide Hotline (1-800-273-8255), or text Crisis Text Line (text ‘Help’ to 741-741).

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Disclaimer:

This blog is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute as therapy.