Tw for people who have HOCD. I recently accepted the fact that I really am bisexual and that's okay. ? I love my husband and nothing will change that. I used to think it was HOCD but after the thought of being attracted to women stopped scaring me, the fears went away but the attraction didn't. So it's no longer a cause for distress and is just a part of me that I've accepted and made peace with. ? However, the one downside of this is, because one of my OCD themes ended up being true, I now have thoughts like "What if they're ALL true? What if every other OCD theme including your POCD is true??" Anyone else in a similar situation?

No, no, no!! Not what I was saying at all. Please don't worry about this. I meant that I used to be scared of being attracted to women bc of my religious upbringing. Hence the obsession and worrying. But then I realized, it's not wrong to feel attracted to girls and I am still attracted to my husband and so it wouldn't even change anything. And that's when the OCD thoughts stopped and I realized im actually bi and not just having HOCD. see the difference? I think mine was more a case of scrupulosity (religion OCD) than HOCD

Like I was always attracted to women but was in denial bc od my religion and started having intrusive thoughts tied to it bc of guilt and shame. Once the guilt and shame went away, and I started going to a church that accepts lgbtq people, I realized this is a real part of me not just ocd

Oh ok I understand what you mean now. You have always felt attracted to women you just didn’t want to because of your religion. That makes since I’m glad you came to peace with everything!!

But wait, are you saying the 'attraction' will never leave!? Back in the days when I saw a men that was good looking, I always thought about I wanted to look like him, like have a cool beard or something like that, but I was never attracted to them, I always liked girls. But since I have HOCD I always get a shock of anxiety when I see someone good looking, will this never leave??

Good for you! I'm glad. The thing is that life is not black and white the way hollywood has showed us. Look, right now it's acceptable to be LGBTTTT but not a pedophile. In other times and societies has been the opposite. The important thing is that you know what you want and wish for yourself and the ones you love. Is my pocd real then? Who knows. Do I want to get divorced and start chasing minors around? Of course not - I want to share rime with my family, travel, learn new languages, see my daughter grow up, etc.

@arborvitae thanks for your response! I'm very glad for you!! Sorry I think I misunderstood you. When did you discovered you were bi, and how? I don't want to use this as reassurance, but I'm just curious. Fake attraction is very hard to deal with for me, so that's why I want to know more about this topic.

When I realized I was bi and accepted it I didn't have as many sexual intrusive thoughts about girls but I haven't had the fear that other things will turn out the same way.

I'm exactly in same the situation!!!

Lauren, you are correct. I'm one of those people that has the "groinal response" at awkward times and have always tried to attribute it to something. But with this it is different bc the distress was not about the idea of the act itself but about what others would think. Whereas with my pocd, there is absolutely no way in hell that I want to do anything, it's completely and utterly ego-dystonic.