tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post3852074132304551034..comments2023-04-02T04:00:46.893-07:00Comments on Exposing OCD: A Script for Fighting Health Anxiety OCDexpwomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10556989048175473815noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-36092889115795597482012-01-31T05:30:31.106-08:002012-01-31T05:30:31.106-08:00I think CBT can be helpful in that it tries to get...I think CBT can be helpful in that it tries to get you to think more realistically, rationally, and more in a measured way about the magnitude of the fears. It has a lot to offer but you have to fine the right CBT tools that fit for you as an individual.Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04102937201132126997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-66279141413574846412012-01-31T05:26:34.407-08:002012-01-31T05:26:34.407-08:00At first, when I tried ERP years ago I did not fee...At first, when I tried ERP years ago I did not feel it worked. Creating the imagined scenarios and reading them back to myself did not create the anxiety intended. It wasn't 'in vivo' like a real health anxiety episode is. To top it off, my therapist, a well respected Boston specialist in OCD, wanted my scripts to run the full gamut of having an illness, suffering and eventually dying from it. I was to imagine my funeral and the aftermath. All in great detail. This did not make me anxious, but rather just made me very sad. That's when I decided ERP was not for me. However, Grayson's versions of scripts seem more useful to me and I may try to go back to ERP. The CBT techniques I've used are designed to foster a more realistic and rational response to health anxiety and I do believe they work for hypochondria. But one has to be very vigilant in using any/all of these techniques every time the anxiety hits in order to rewire the way we think. Thank you for posting this script. Do you have any others you might be willing to share?Bethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04102937201132126997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-19678629757125647632011-10-14T20:32:20.869-07:002011-10-14T20:32:20.869-07:00Anon--I hope your visit to the ERP therapist was f...Anon--I hope your visit to the ERP therapist was fruitful! I agree that CBT is very limited in it's help for health anxiety OCD--I always had one more "what if". . .expwomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10556989048175473815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-22228612134659408672011-09-12T04:46:04.579-07:002011-09-12T04:46:04.579-07:00This is so helpful to me as is your entire blog!! ...This is so helpful to me as is your entire blog!! Ive done tons of CBT for health anxiety but didnt really help. I think the concept of accepting the uncertainty of whats going on in my body is the only way to try to control my anxiety. Scary, but I made an appt with a specialist in Exposure Therapy (next week) b/c of you. Thank you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-87752757577498912742010-06-19T12:21:45.332-07:002010-06-19T12:21:45.332-07:00I remember reading an article about fears "cy...I remember reading an article about fears "cycling" and that definitely gave me some insight--like you said, it's the same core fear, regardless of its outer manifestations. <br /><br />I hear you on the actual diagnosis being less terrifying than the fears. When I had skin cancer after years of obsessing about it, dealing with treatment for it was far less traumatizing than my OCD fears and self-loathing.expwomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10556989048175473815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-71314166774123928132010-06-16T00:52:58.651-07:002010-06-16T00:52:58.651-07:00For several years, my health anxiety was out of th...For several years, my health anxiety was out of the park. I was dependent upon doctors to save me from my fears, yet I believed they were idiots when they told me nothing was wrong. Finally, in 2006, my worst fear came to fruition and I actually was diagnosed with the very illness I feared most! But I recovered. Interestingly, going through it was far less terrifying than the fear of going through it. I was free from the grips of OCD for three years, and boy did it come back with a vengeance (no longer health anxiety). What it helping me heal now is the realization that the fear is always present - that is the OCD - but the subject of that fear changes. That fact makes me realize that it is not WHAT I fear, which gives the OCD less power.I Am Not My OCDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12306313002118478002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-83250967357811742112010-05-28T10:54:31.854-07:002010-05-28T10:54:31.854-07:00pebbleroad--thank you so much for your response. ...pebbleroad--thank you so much for your response. I am glad you saw my post as a window to what treatment looks like!expwomanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10556989048175473815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4379098794464036922.post-47563799811280065302010-05-25T21:23:35.225-07:002010-05-25T21:23:35.225-07:00It's really fantastic that you posted your exp...It's really fantastic that you posted your exposure/self-talk script! Some people are so scared to even get close to what treatment would look like & they stay trapped. This gives a window into what treatment options look like & the powerful truth that they can cling to. Be encouraged & thanks for encouraging.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com