All these different themes are like me living In my worst nightmare, I don’t want any of these thoughts and I accept the uncertainty behind them, but I just want to be back to me. I’m looking for any advice
Well, I also from time to time suffer from Sexual Orientation OCD. When I watched documentaries about transgenders, I also had Transgender OCD for a while, but that resolved itself on its own, as I felt certainty, that I like being a woman. When I worry about maybe being a lesbian, saying - Well, it wouldn't be bad, if I was... so who cares? - it gets better quickly, but then sometimes it pops up and I can't easily say that and SO OCD gets its grip around me again... My former therapist told me to neither say "yes", or "no" to my OCD thoughts, but "maybe". This maybe helped me a lot with keeping my magical thoughts at bay. Other therapists before her always told me to say "yes" to my thoughts and that's what I never really could do. Unfortunately, with regards to POCD, thinking "maybe" is often too hard to accomplish. My advice is to seek ERP therapy with a therapist who is specialized in OCD.
Thank you so much, my ocd started with soocd, then reading about subtypes it latched onto trans aswell. I’m confident in being a male and that’s all I’ll ever want, it’s more the fear of being trans and I find that thought so scary, I’ll try to say maybe but similar for your pocd it’s just so difficult for me to accept the possibility
How long did ur tocd last ?
@melissaaa I’ve still got it pretty bad, been around 2 weeks
I totally understand... For me, it is not only the thought of being lesbian, but what that would mean. When I still had a partner, I had been scared more by SO, as it would have meant, that I would have to leave him. Did you ever try ERP therapy?
I did about 3 sessions, this was all before my trans subtype. It certainly worked for my soocd, but ocd found something else. To latch onto sadly):
Hi! I understand how painful OCD can be. I'd like to validate what you're feeling by saying that themes can and often do change and it can feel so distressing. However, we always go back to the gold standard of treatment—ERP! It does get better if you put in the work! Also, sometimes therapy alone may not work for people, sometimes a combination of therapy and medication can be helpful for people. If you're working with a NOCD therapist, definitely ask them about all of your options. Here are some resources that may be helpful to you: https://www.sheppardpratt.org/news-views/story/how-to-respond-to-unwanted-obsessive-thoughts/#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20one%20right,if%20you%20wish%20to%20entertain. Also, the Fear Cast podcast is great. This episode is about changing themes: https://fearcastpodcast.com/2022/03/08/flavor-of-the-week/ And, here is one about recovery and if people can actually get better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgt5Xd0kOGE&t=103s You got this! :)
Dear A., thanks so much. ☺️
It feels it always tries a way to sneak back in... Aged 14 I took SSRIs for the first time, I had been completely OCD free for two weeks, then it came back as strong as before. It really feels, that my brain is inclined that way and I have to fight OCD and am not able to take the easy route (medication) to tame it. But if ERP worked for SO OCD, try it again for T OCD. See it like Pedusa, you need to cut off every snake, it is not enough to just cut off one.
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