avoiding trigger vs spike hunting

[dabro]

My therapist who was all about wanting me to do the ERP has said that once you figure out the triggers then you avoid. But, Steven Phillipsons says seeks out those spike so you can better handle them in the future. I say there both right. We all don't heal in the same time and my last spike lasted a month but I started to believe in myself that I would get better not worse. And I got better. Spike hunting is very tricky cos if your like me you HATE anxiety and then on the other side we don't get enough CBT ERP trainig to know how to deal with our OCD when benzo's or anti depressents ain't doing the trick. But Kaykay say's she avoides some of the foums on here. I'm the same way. I know hwen I read the title if it's going to trigger me or not. So I just avoid. Doesn't mean I'm going backwards in my recovery. Just means I found a coping skill tailored to me.

 

[drjean]

Yes, first you learn how to identify what triggers you, then you avoid them while you work on how to handle them, and then you can expose yourself to them when ready.... "exposure therapy"... with a T's help you won't go too fast and retrigger yourself.

Who's KayKay?

 

[gracealone]

Yep, I agree Dabro, we all have to go at our own pace. Taking on too much too fast can overwhelm or discourage us. The "RP" part of ERP means learning not to respond to the spike by engaging in rumination or reassurance seeking. It involves ignoring or just allowing the thoughts without attending to them. The "E" in ERP means exposure. This is the harder part of ERP. It means to voluntarily expose yourself to the "spike" with a kind of "bring it on" attitude. This is best done gradually. It's just like treating a phobia. You have to expose yourself to the feared thing in a gradual way in order to train your brain to stop overreacting to it. With OCD the "feared thing" is often a theme or idea. So exposure to that would mean imagining or visualizing what it would be like if the thought/theme really were true and then sitting with all the dreaded outcomes that would present without fighting back. Or it can be doing something that provokes the spiking and then just sitting with the anxiety without trying to escape it or undo it. I think the key to this type of exposure exercise is to go at it gradually so you don't become discouraged. Dr. Phillipson's concepts have helped me tremendously with my OCD. He really understands Pure O OCD better than most other Dr.s as that's his speciality.
Good "share".
Mitzi

My therapist who was all about wanting me to do the ERP has said that once you figure out the triggers then you avoid. But, Steven Phillipsons says seeks out those spike so you can better handle them in the future. I say there both right. We all don't heal in the same time and my last spike lasted a month but I started to believe in myself that I would get better not worse. And I got better. Spike hunting is very tricky cos if your like me you HATE anxiety and then on the other side we don't get enough CBT ERP trainig to know how to deal with our OCD when benzo's or anti depressents ain't doing the trick. But Kaykay say's she avoides some of the foums on here. I'm the same way. I know hwen I read the title if it's going to trigger me or not. So I just avoid. Doesn't mean I'm going backwards in my recovery. Just means I found a coping skill tailored to me.

 

[dabro]

Yes, first you learn how to identify what triggers you, then you avoid them while you work on how to handle them, and then you can expose yourself to them when ready.... "exposure therapy"... with a T's help you won't go too fast and retrigger yourself.

Who's KayKay?

Kaykay9.0 you'll see her on here sometimes but she hasn't been on here in awhile.

 

[dabro]

My therapist knows I have been thru a very traumatic psychosis so she wants to go slow on the ERP. but, she is more then willing to work that hard to help me. And I think she wants me to date someone she knows because she keeps up bring what do I want in a woman and how long I've been single. The Lord works in ways we can't phantom.