Exposure Therapy for OCD

Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone has had positive experiences with exposure therapy for OCD? I have contamination OCD (mostly around eating and drinking) and had my first session of exposure therapy yesterday. It was awful! So awful that I left and went home and got into bed and just wanted to cry all night.

We started with me imagining drinking out of a glass of water that he had touched. Even just imagining it was rough.

I have been seeing this therapist for 5 weeks, I thought I liked him, but during the exposure I felt like he was patronising me - I am not stupid, I realise that drinking out of a glass that someone has touched is not going to kill me, my brain just "tells" me that it will. Is that just something that happens during exposure because the therapist is trying to make sure that you understand the basic theory behind it... or is it his approach ... or is it my attitude towards it?

I would really appreciate any advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation, since at this stage I am not keen to return next week!

Thanks!

Exposure therapy would make you understand that what your fears are just psychological. Maybe you are just paranoid? So after the exposure, you will be less paranoid?
I'm curious, why do you think drinking a glass of water someone has touched will kill you?
And sorry I don't understand your question about the theory....
Well for me, I am afraid of urine/feet/sperm particles.
For example, If I have touch my body, I would have particles on my hand.
And I can't wash the particles off.
About the feet particles thing, IDK.
I don't know why...I can't seem to understand myself either.
So anyway, I wish you the best on recovery

Actually him saying it won't kill doesn't sound like the right thing to say. It is actually just very unlikely to kill you, but you are exposing yourself to that risk so that you can learn to function better in life. The part where your brain is telling you it will kill you makes sense and is a good sign - it is your anxiety rising, which should happen in exposure therapy. The point is to let your anxiety rise without performing compulsions, and then letting your mind habituate itself to the anxiety.

My understanding is the therapist should be giving you encouraging feedback, like, "Don't you want your life to be better in x,y,z ways? Then deal with this momentary anxiety caused by this seemingly unrisky situation." The idea is not to convince you logically that what you are doing has no risk, but that your risk assessment is overstated compared to what other people / scientific research says. They call this part of the treatment "cognitive restructuring."

If you don't feel comfortable with this particular therapist, you could look for a new one. Check out the OC Foundation's website, they have a list of therapists who practice Exposure and Response Prevention treatment.