[circles5]

Hi.
Firstly I'd recommend checking out Dr Steven Philiipson. A lot of very helpful videos on OCD available on YouTube. He really is an expert.
Secondly - trigger warning maybe... (as I'm still trying to grapple with the idea of ERP and I think I'm having an obsession over it... so don't get caught up in it with me!!)

Ok.
So I've been learning about ERP and how it works. Below is me paraphrasing my understanding... so I may not have it entirely right
My concern is about the desensitising or perhaps more; familiarisation to the shriek of anxiety/warning from the amygdala - which is quintessential to the recovery from OCD.

My obsessing is centred around this.
So you train your mind that your ok to have the warning/alarm go off when you touch something 'dirty' and spread it around without engaging in safety behaviours/rituals.
So my fearful thought today is: don't we need that warning? As surely that same warning makes us run out of the road if we hear cars revving up?
Now in OCD there's a malfunction with the warning circuit (I gather)
So we with ocd do need to learn to learn the irrelevance of it cognitively but primarily emotionally (as the amgdyla has no language skills so responds best to behavioural training / the emotional side of things.

Where I'm tripping up is: my understanding is that the content of the intrusions/obsession is irrelevant. So we're then not learning desensitization to specific themes, and the related anxiety spikes; such as a contamination theme or a paedophilia theme.
Instead that were learning to desensitize to the emotional component. The fear/warning. As that warning will go off whatever the theme is..

But how do we then differentiate when we actually need it. For instance, hearing a police siren coming up fast when crossing the road - from the warning that goes out in relation to OCD obsessions.?

I'm not coming at this from the: 'is it irresponsible to ignore the warning.' As I know this is far from the truth.
I'm just wandering if there's a holistic desensitization to the warning circuit from the brain or does it only happen within the context of OCD?

(Once again. I'm no expert, just a sufferer and this is all new information to me so I've yet to properly digest it - so I may have some stuff wrong > let alone my anxiety spike about desensitization e.t.c)

Thanks

[circles5]

I thought id bump this, be nice to hear some thoughts on it.
My ponderings have led me to believe its about context.
And i guess thats where the cognitive part of cbt comes in?