Can I live with uncertainty?
Here’s what Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) has to say.
If you live with OCD or an anxiety disorder, you already know how convincing the mind can be. It tells you that danger is just around the corner, and that certainty is the only way to get back to safety. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a treatment that gently—and powerfully—challenges those messages.
What is ERP?
ERP is considered the gold-standard treatment for OCD and many anxiety disorders. It teaches your nervous system something entirely new: you can feel fear, uncertainty, and discomfort—and still act in accordance with your values.
This process involves approaching feared thoughts, sensations, or situations and choosing not to engage in compulsions (the behaviors that temporarily soothe anxiety…but ultimately keep it alive).
Something remarkable happens during this process.
Anxiety quickly rises… and then slowly falls on its own. The feared outcome doesn’t arrive in the way your mind predicted. And even when discomfort lingers, you learn something powerful: you actually are able to tolerate it. This learning happens through experience. Each exposure becomes a lived lesson: I faced this fear—and I survived to tell the tale.
What ERP Is Not
ERP is often misunderstood, even within the therapist community. It is not about throwing you into your worst fears, forcing you to white-knuckle through feelings of terror and panic, or dismissing your distress. It is also not about making anxiety “go away.” When done well, ERP is a collaborative, compassionate, and carefully paced process. It is one that prioritizes safety, consent, and trust.
After treatment, you will notice:
Fearful thoughts feel less powerful and less urgent
You spend less time checking, avoiding, or seeking reassurance
Anxiety rises and falls without trying to control your choices
Uncertainty feels more tolerable—even when it’s uncomfortable
You trust yourself more to handle the hard moments
There is freedom to focus on the things you care about
ERP doesn’t promise a life without fear. What it offers is something far more sustainable: a new relationship with it. Instead of asking, “How do I stop feeling afraid?” you begin asking, “What matters enough to do it anyway?”
Why I Love ERP
I love this treatment because every exposure is an act of bravery. Every day, I witness clients choose not to let fear be in charge of their lives. They develop something far deeper than just symptom relief — trust in themselves.
Ready to begin?
Written by Maggie Duret, LPCC, sourced from: International OCD Foundation. (2025). Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). International OCD Foundation. https://iocdf.org/about-ocd/treatment/erp
