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Kill me heal me episodes9/9/2023 ![]() If your exposure homework doesn’t cause at least some anxiety, it isn’t going to help you that much. If your homework doesn’t really give you any anxiety, tell your therapist about it. Getting it over with as quickly as possible is not the goal - raising a moderate level of anxiety and staying with it is the goal. Take your time, and see if you can view it in terms of all the good it will do you. Try to not rush through your therapy homework so that you don’t have to feel as much anxiety. Why do I have to do this?” Instead, tell yourself, “This will be good for me - another chance to practice and get stronger.” 19. View it as another opportunity to get better instead of saying, “Oh, no. When faced with a challenging assignment or an unexpected challenging situation, try to look at it as a positive. You are building tolerance to what you fear, and for that to happen you have to be in the moment with it. Also, don’t do homework while carrying out other distracting activities. People sometimes let the homework become routine and do it in a very automatic way as a kind of avoidance. Try to not let yourself tune out when doing certain assignments, so that you don’t have to feel the anxiety. Give your homework your full attention, focus on what you are doing, and let yourself feel the anxiety. Telling yourself things like, “It’s only homework, and the things I’m saying and doing don’t count and aren’t real,” or “My therapist wouldn’t ask me to do something that would cause harm to me or others,” or “I’m only doing this because I was told to, so I’m not responsible for anything bad that happens,” can undermine all the work your doing. When carrying out assignments, be careful to not provide yourself reassurance and undo your hard work. Try to read over your homework assignments at the start of each day.ĭon’t assume that you know them all and will not forget them. ![]() Remember that you still have a life to live. Also, don’t do your homework so excessively that it takes up your whole day. Watch out for having to do your homework according to the same rigid rules each time you do it. If you do find yourself obsessing about having to do your homework perfectly, you risk turning it into another compulsion. You may find your OCD telling you that if you don’t do your homework perfectly, you won’t recover. Perfectionism can be another feature of OCD. The perfect moment is whenever you begin doing them. Procrastination is a feature of many people’s OCD, so start your therapy homework assignments the day you get them. Don’t wait for the “perfect moment” to start your therapy homework assignments. It is easy to overlook them - especially the ones you don’t look forward to doing.ġ3. Review your therapy homework assignments daily. When faced with two possible choices of what to confront, choose the more difficult of the two whenever possible. If you want to recover, you will have to do this. You can’t run away from your own thoughts, so you really have no choice but to face them. The only way to overcome a fear is to face it. When you have a choice, always go toward the anxiety, never away from it. Instead, try to simply focus on carrying out each day’s therapy homework, one day at a time. Don’t get too impatient with your progress, or compare yourself to someone else.Įveryone goes at their own pace. They won’t always be there when you need them, but YOU are always there for YOU. Remember that dealing with your symptoms is your responsibility alone.ĭon’t involve others in your therapy homework (unless your therapist tells you to) or expect them to push you or motivate you. Your motto should be, “If you want to think about them less, think about them more.”ħ. Studies have shown that you cannot effectively stop or push down particular thoughts. This will only have the opposite effect and lead to thinking more thoughts. Don’t waste time trying to prevent or not think your thoughts. Try not to get too detailed when agreeing - simply say the thoughts are true and real. The questions they raise are not real questions, and there are no real answers to them. ![]() Never analyze, question, or argue with them. Always try hard to agree with all obsessive thoughts Reassurance-seeking is a compulsion, no matter how you may try to justify it. Reassurance will cancel out the effects of any therapy homework you use it on and prevent you from improving. Instead, tell yourself the worst will happen, is happening, or has already happened. Never seek reassurance from yourself or others. Remember that not recovering is the biggest risk of all. Risk is an integral part of life, and as such it cannot be completely gotten rid of. ![]()
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