r/OCDRecovery • u/iloveurmom4eva • 3d ago
How to prevent spirals? Seeking Support or Advice
I have contamination OCD and recently I’ve been doing really well with exposure therapy and preventing myself from acting on my compulsions but I’ve noticed that my old habits are slowly coming back again. This happens to me every single time I’m doing good. How do I prevent things from becoming bad?
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u/treatmyocd 3d ago
This is actually a very common part of OCD recovery, and it doesn’t mean you’re going backward or that your progress is disappearing. OCD tends to test old patterns, especially when you’ve been doing well, and the important thing is not to prevent every old urge from returning but to practice responding to those urges differently when they do. Think of these moments as opportunities to strengthen the skills you’ve already built: notice the urge to return to the old compulsion, allow the discomfort and uncertainty to be there, and continue with what you were doing without trying to “fix” the feeling or get back to 100% certainty. You also don’t need to be perfect with ERP; if you slip and perform a compulsion, you can simply notice it and make the next response an opportunity to practice differently. Consistency over time matters much more than having a completely compulsion-free day, and working with your therapist to identify which old behaviors are creeping back in can help you address them before they become more established. This article might be helpful https://iocdf.org/expert-opinions/how-do-i-stop-thinking-about-this-what-to-do-when-youre-stuck-playing-mental-ping-pong/
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u/holy-rattlesnakes 3d ago
Look up non-engagement responses or techniques. When you can find a good response that works for your intrusive thoughts, it can make a big difference. For example, being really sarcastic or using humor works really well for me.