What is ERP? Exposure Response Prevention, abbreviated to ERP, is a type of therapy designed to target, reduce and eliminate the compulsions (rituals) that occur within OCD. The cornerstone of ERP is two related learning processes called habituation and extinction. The treatment affords you the chance to change your reaction to your fears by lowering […]
Coronavirus and OCD
I have been updating some articles on MoodSmith, relating to OCD; specifically contamination, and decided it would be more helpful if I write my thoughts on the implications of the coronavirus and OCD. I think the most significant difficulty with the coronavirus and OCD, is that proper handwashing and being aware of cross-contamination is necessary to […]
Thinking Errors in OCD
If you have OCD, your thoughts and images that cause you so much distress are more than likely not correct. You are probably making mistakes in your thinking; known as thinking errors or cognitive distortions. Correcting these mistakes in your thinking is part of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and a good first step to helping you with your OCD. Your […]
Reassurance seeking in Intrusive Thoughts; it does more harm than good.
If you have intrusive thoughts, you probably have looked for reassurance to help you to cope with the content of your thoughts. Even though it might feel like it helps, albeit short term, you are in fact doing more harm than good and I want to talk to you about that today. I am going […]
Planning for bad things to happen and why you need to be specific!
Planning for bad things to happen, trying to prevent bad things, or expecting the worse, not only takes up time, but it also can affect your mood, how you feel about yourself, and can even stop you from getting things that you want from life. I want to talk about why you might feel the […]
Thought Action Fusion and it’s importance in Intrusive Thoughts
If you recognise yourself in the following statements, then the following information on Thought Action Fusion is for you. If you believe that thinking about something makes it more likely to happen and/or thinking something ‘bad’ or ‘immoral’ is practically the same as having carried out the thought, then you are suffering because of faulty […]
Compulsions make your intrusive thoughts worse
Many people with Intrusive Thoughts, mistakenly think that they do not have compulsions, but they will be there. The compulsions not only make your intrusive thoughts worse, but they serve to keep it going. Intrusive Thoughts have also been termed Pure O, which stands for Pure Obsessional. If you have Pure O I can see […]
ERP for Intrusive Thoughts
ERP – Exposure Response Prevention is helpful in treating Intrusive Thoughts, and it is something I am asked about a lot, so I thought I’d write an article to help explain the concepts and how it will help you. This article is useful for all types of intrusive thoughts including HOCD, harm related OCD, POCD, […]