I just wanted to ask, how do you know if you like the same sex and are in denial, or if it’s HOCD? I’ve tried finding resources but none of them really explain it well enough for me to differentiate.

You can tell if you like it. I know it sounds blunt - but myself im gay. And I've had OCD where I think I'm straight - but at the end of the day if I were straight then I would be with a woman? I'm so comfortable with it now that I even tell me my friends that maybe one day I will be with a woman - but by accepting it and not fighting the thought I realise there is no attraction there. Its so difficult when you are in that anxious stage of mind I know! But if you allow yourself to give in to the thoughts and accept maybe you are bisexual or gay - I think you'll find that when it comes to it, you probably wont be. Nature is nature and even OCD cant make you feel love for someone you dont. I hope this helps :) It's the same with Trans OCD - I almost had bad anxiety over it but after I realised that trans people like being trans, they just fight societies view on it. Same with being gay - the only thing that stopped me from coming out was what other people would think - for me accepting myself was easier.

@logan123 man this line was great “even ocd can’t make you feel love for someone you don’t.” For me, it helps to put things in context. For example, on Monday I was out with friends and found myself super attracted to a woman at the bar we were at. Didn’t even think anything of it. But, when I smoked with my buddy Friday night, I bugged out on whether or not I could be attracted to him. Was I? Am I? I was just resisting and combating the thoughts of my sexuality in that moment ya know? It was that battle with my thoughts that tripped me out...not the actual attraction/or not to my male friend. It’s hard in the moment but honestly mindfulness meditation does wonders for compartmentalizing your thoughts.

@blindpeach Thanks dude! Yeah exactly you cracked it there. OCD is the king of overthinking overthinking? I find the more open I am to being free and not caring the more defined I actually become. E.g yesterday I was with a quite androgynous female. She was coming on to me - I'm gay so I wouldn't do anything - but I started to question whether I would and if i found her attractive. But I allowed myself to relax and allowed myself to accept her beauty but realised I'm really not attracted Haha. Once you stop fighting you can see much clearer.

can ocd make you feel like you want something yet you don’t?