A reminder to HOCD sufferers who keep “testing” their sexuality: “A 2015 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology undermines long held beliefs about heteronormative sexual orientation. The study looks at gender expression in women and measures their physiological response viewing a variety of pornographic material. It found that, regardless of how women self report their sexuality, their bodies respond positively to both hetero- and homosexual sex. Meaning, women's sexuality is complex and not within the bounds of strict hetero- or homosexuality.” https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ypa7vk/straight-people-dont-exist-new-research-says

Is it normal for even straight people to question their sexuality at times? Before HOCD I was like I’m probably bi or whatever based on NOO CONCRETE EVIDENCE bc in real life I was only attracted to men and am in a stable relationship with a boy...but I got these random thoughts and they didn’t bother me as much that’s until HOCD hit :( and now I’m like NO IM STRAIGHT STOP ?

So strange and personal question but has any female here with HOCD ever watched Lesbian porn or actively looked at sexual pictures of women and been aroused, but identify as straight. Because I did that when I was young but when I did it (it was only for a month or two) I identified as straight and continued to like boys and as a kid I never had the thought I was gay because I never had a crush on a girl. But now that my HOCD started in summer it’s been coming back to haunt me. The part that worry’s me is that when I was little I actively searched out these pictures. It wasn’t exactly like things that were meant to arouse me, but it did at times. I just found them interesting and actively looked at them. It wasn’t an addiction but it wasn’t an accident. Does this mean I’m gay? I rlly hop it doesn’t and it’s just HOCD. I just can’t let go of this it makes my HOCD crazy...

Re: HOCD/bisexuality So I'm sure a lot of us here are familiar with the old "no one is 100% straight or gay," "sexuality is a spectrum," etc. etc. etc. Obviously those things don't offer sticking reassurance to those of us with a feelings of intense doubt, urgency & guilt telling us we are liars, need to immediately live in accordance with our true selves, and so on. I'm just curious whether anyone here is actually somewhat comfortable with the idea of bisexuality, like I am sometimes. What mostly triggers me are thoughts that I would like being with the same sex MORE, that I'm MOSTLY gay, that I shouldn't have a boyfriend because it's dishonest to who I am and going to lead to pain and wasted time, that I SHOULD go have sex with a woman because otherwise how will I ever know who I really am? It's basically a desire to have a complete understanding of my orientation and live in a way that perfectly represents that. But obviously this doesn't completely make sense because human behavior is complex and people don't solely get involved with one another to test their sexual responses, lol. They do it because they just follow their motivation and if they make a mistake, they deal with it and redirect. Honestly not sure if this post is just me having a compulsion to vent (I've compulsively journaled in the past, sometimes going until I end on some note of reassurance). But I'm hitting send ?‍♀️