Exposure & Response PRevention
Exposure and response prevention is often referred to as “ERP” or “exposures”. You may have heard from others about doing exposure therapy for common phobias like blood draws, or flying. ERP is based on a behavioral understanding of fear based behavior where if we act in congruence with what our fears want us to do, we learn that the fear needs to be kept and obeyed to keep ourselves or others safe/ comfortable. Unfortunately when the fear is out of proportion to the actual threat, this type of learning is unhelpful and in fact creates more problems for us. We see this for individuals who have OCD, social anxiety, and phobias.
ERP is the framework for interfering in this unhelpful behavioral learning cycle to learn new ways of behaving with our out of proportion fears that are more in line with our values and desired way of living.
Exposure and response prevention is highly effective for individuals to do just this, regain their freedom and live a life they feel is meaningful. ERP has been studied and finessed for several decades and has a lot of research backing up how effective it is in reducing fear based behavior that pulls people away from their life. It is however fairly uncomfortable to do, which is why I am here to help. I have helped hundreds of people do ERP and seen huge amounts of bravery that has led to them finding freedom from their fears and worries. As you are reading this and imagining doing ERP, please imagine doing it with a therapist who will guide you along the way and support you in tackling this. You do not have to be alone on this journey.
Before starting exposure and response prevention it is important to get really curious about what the fears are, the triggers, and behaviors you feel you have to compulsively do as an attempt to neutralize the threat you feel is there. Mindfulness based skills can be really helpful at this stage to separate a little bit from your thoughts and feelings and gain perspective.
From this point the exposures are created based on your observations of your fears and on the activities you want to be able to participate in, in your life. Essentially you will do the things your fears are telling you not to (the fears that are out of proportion to the actual threat), combined with doing things that increase meaningfulness in your life, and resist doing the behaviors that the fears are telling you to do. Through this process, your brain will actually create new neural pathways of new ways of navigating fears in daily life that are more congruent with what you want.
Yes it is difficult AND it is worth it. The more ERP you do throughout the days and weeks ahead, the more new learning and freedom you will find in your daily life. And again, you do not need to do this alone. Reach out to a therapist, whether myself or another one you trust, and get help today in reconnecting with your family, friends, hobbies, and interests. You can do this!
You can find even more information about ERP in regards to OCD treatment HERE
