- Date posted
- 6y
- Date posted
- 6y
If you’re endlessly arguing with yourself about your sexuality, it’s still OCD. I hate the advice to “look within” because everyone says it and it sounds great but it’s just not something people with OCD can do to get an answer. People with OCD try to “look within” all of the time but end up a less solid identity than anyone. I’d say that right now given your theme, I wouldn’t look inside about sexuality. Some day when you’ve beaten this and your sexuality is no longer a focus for your OCD and you’ve gotten really good at dealing with OCD, sure: look within. But not right now. You’ve already done that again and again and it’s only confused you further.
- Date posted
- 6y
Hey, I’m not a therapist but to me it sounds like this bisexual thought could be another formation of your ocd. And perhaps the ruminating and attempts to reassure yourself that you’re straight are compulsions. Like I say, I’m not qualified to diagnose but that would be my guess from experiencing something similar myself. It’s super hard to think clearly when you’re anxious though so be kind to yourself if you can! I’ve actually just come across some great videos about ocd and sexuality, which helped me to understand a bit more eg ‘OCD3:OCD & Sexuality’
- Date posted
- 6y
Anxiety isn’t the only OCD reaction, there’s also guilt and depression and others. The fact that you feel a guilt spike every time you say you’re straight should be a good indication that it’s OCD. And I’m sure as a compulsion it wants you to “admit” or “confess” what you “really are.” Like any other compulsion, resist. Don’t tell yourself you’re bi over and over again to make up for it and try to get rid of the guilt. Just let it be there and dissipate on its own.
- Date posted
- 6y
Thank you for the advice, one more thing, is it normal for people struggling with ocd to get thoughts and even not react to them with anxiety, even admitting to themselves that they are bisexual, mainly because of guilt, for example I feel guilty all the time for not admitting to myself that I am bisexual, because of the fact that I used to watch lesbian porn. Despite the fact that I would never ever do anything sexual with a woman, I still feel guilty for saying to others that I am straight, with my past actions that are clearly doubtful. How do I cope with this guilt?
Related posts
- Date posted
- 20w
I need too know that I'm not insane, really. I am 16 and for the past two weeks, this has been completely ruining my health and happiness. I only recently came out as a lesbian like 3 months ago after a lot of confusion about my attraction since I used to think I liked men. At first, I felt so sure that I liked women, but lately, I've been having these unwanted thoughts about the possibility of liking men. I never used to feel this way, but now, every time I look at a man, my brain obsessively fixates on it. It forces me to imagine kissing him, loving him, things I don’t want, and then tries to convince me that I do. It’s painful. The thought of this fills me with fear and anxiety, leading to panic attacks and breakdowns. I don’t want these thoughts. I hate them with every fiber of my being, but I’m terrified that one day I’ll act on them and somehow like it. I used to think I liked men, but back then, I was in a very unhealthy space in a time of escapism and something deeply parasocial. I’ve only ever liked the attention and validation a man could give me, but these experiences are somehow treated as further proof that I’m "bisexual." I’ve never been in a real relationship with anyone, which makes my brain constantly challenge me—telling me, “You don’t even know what love feels like.” It won’t shut up. It keeps obsessively trying to make me prove that I’m a lesbian, testing my reactions and questioning my certainty. Is this normal?
- Date posted
- 9w
Hi everyone, I’ve been really anxious lately, and I just need to get this out of my head. Someone recently told me that maybe I’m bisexual — that I might be more sexually attracted to women, but more romantically attracted to men. That bisexuality is not 50/50. And ever since I heard that, I’ve been spiraling. The thing is: I don’t want this to be true. It scares me. I don’t feel romantic attraction to women, I’ve never wanted to be in a relationship with one. But yes, I get aroused by fantasies involving women — and that makes me feel broken or like I’ve been lying to myself. I love my boyfriend deeply, I don’t want to lose him. I want to feel fully connected to him, physically and emotionally. But now I’m stuck in this obsessive loop of questioning: “What if I’m just in denial?” “What if I’m not really straight?” “What if this is why my libido is low?” It’s exhausting, and I don’t know if this is OCD, anxiety, or if something is fundamentally wrong. Has anyone else felt this split — romantic feelings for one gender, sexual feelings for another? I feel so alone and scared. Thanks for listening.
- Date posted
- 8w
Hello everyone, I just wanted to share a part of my journey that I’m struggling with right now. I’ve been diagnosed with ocd and while this is not my first subtype, ROCD and so ocd have definitely been the ones I’ve been struggling with the most. For context I have a boyfriend who I love very much and am terrified of loosing. That’s probably what ocd latched onto. The so-ocd especially is tricky because I’ve come to acknowledge that I am bisexual. Don’t worry I didn’t “discover” this through ocd, I’ve always known and it’s been in the back of my mind way before ocd, I had just never really directly acknowledged it because romantically I just always leaned towards men. The thing my ocd latched onto is “what if you are actually a lesbian and don’t know it yet and will have to leave your partner or are lying to your partner or end up leading him on” The thing is, I don’t have much experience with women except kissing my female best friend once, which didn’t feel special or made me have romantic feelings for her. I’ve always seeked men more actively than women and didn’t feel like I was gonna miss out if I get into a serious relationship with a man before having had more experience. I just know that I can be sexually attracted to women as well. But now that I’m in this beautiful relationship I’m terrified of getting it wrong or having missed something about myself or being scared that I’m actually a lesbian and have been lying to myself all along. I’m not seeking reassurance, just wanting to share and maybe someone else is going through something similar? If so I’d be so grateful to know I’m not alone. I love my boyfriend dearly and i really hope we will work out in the long run.
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