POCD TW. Need some help. So, I’ve been struggling with what I hope is POCD since October. I’m a lot better now, but some days are still a huge struggle. I’ve never really had any groinal movements at all, which I found weird but was happy about it. But today, a kid at my job leaned against me and it made me kind of anxious, and then out of nowhere I felt something down there. And it was kind of a lot, I instantly felt awful. And have been ruminating since. I hated every second of it. It feels like every step forward I take something new happens to send me back. Not sure if this just proves I am what I fear, or I’m in denial. Or what. I’m just scared.

you’ve been down this road before and you can get through it again! Ocd would like you to ruminate and think that you can “figure it out” come to a realization or a conclusion. Lies, lies! The best way out of this is to acknowledge what happened. Tell yourself “maybe I did have a groinal response” but I’m choosing to accept the uncertainty of that situation and move on. If this situation happened to me, my therapist would like me to use this situation as an exposure, acknowledge and agree with what ocd says I am and sit with the anxiety. In the end, what changes? Our actions define us, not thoughts or our feelings. In the end, a thought is still a thought. You have my support, man , you can do this!

As someone with pocd who has been through the dark and recovering, and who works in pediatrics, I still struggle with the same thoughts and feelings around kids. You aren’t alone! The only way I’ve been able to get through is keep on with the coping skills and ERP! You got this!

It’s definitely not you, OCD’s a real mental disorder and it doesn’t define any part of your morality! The fact that you feel awful, as I’m sure you’re aware, means that you aren’t a bad person. Honestly, it means you’re a good one. You’ve got a disorder that makes your brain do stuff you don’t want it to do, and since your brain is in charge of your body’s reactions, groinal responses can happen. It doesn’t mean a thing. Just that you have OCD. The tricky part is that the less you fear these things and ruminate on them, the less frequent these incidents will be. It relies on you being freaked out. It’s a hard road, but you’re already on it. The first step is always reminding yourself that it isn’t you.

Thank you :)

You also have to think about the “senses”- stuff like that is almost a reflex- does not mean you’d act or actually think that way.