I think it is because it involves something that is not considered as wrong like other themes as Harm, POCD, etc. And it's something that has increased in society, it's probably because, sorry if this triggers someone (I have SO OCD) And I think it's because people has more possibilities to be gay than being a m^rder..(??
Agreed. I’ve been struggling with SOOCD since August. During these months it’s manifested into so many different worries and right now I’m struggling with false attraction. I had a theme of harm ocd when I was in 6th grade and remember feeling like it was the worst possible thing. When I eventually realized my thoughts were silly it just went away. But with this theme it feels like a constant roller coaster where one day I’m not having many intrusive thoughts and the next day everything triggers me. I totally agree that it’s because sexual orientation is something seen every day in the media and it’s not something you could go to jail for / not live a normal life because of. We’ve got this!!
EXACTLY you understood, like it's a taboo theme, it's something you see everywhere, I had POCD but it wasn't as hard as this...
@pengunaranja Yes! And I feel like scrolling through social media makes it worse for me because it’s full of triggers. (Trigger warning btw) but I find seeing celebrities or people on the internet who are just coming out as lesbian in their late 20s / 30s to be one of my worst triggers. It just terrifies me like nothing has before!
@LV4523 I deleted all my social media 😛
@LV4523 YES
@LV4523 To suddenly find out..?? I hate that
@pengunaranja I stayed off tik tok for a long time but realized it was avoidance. We’ve got this! I found an instagram called @soocdsupport if you need any words of encouragement. Mine is also intertwined with some ROCD since this is the happiest relationship I’ve ever had. OCD attacks what we value the most!!!!! Especially our sexuality and the vision we’ve always had for our future!
@pengunaranja Same. I constantly mentally review my childhood / early teens to look for signs as a compulsion.
@LV4523 Sameeee, I have ROCD too
@pengunaranja Do you find yourself reading about so-ocd a lot to confirm that you have it? Sorry if that’s triggering I’m just curious because I do that!
@LV4523 i do this!!
@LV4523 I doooo!!
One thing that has triggered me is looking at HOCD recovery stories and seeing the people are gay and found out through treatment. I see it more than people whom have had this theme and gone on to live a normal life. I worry that is going to be me and I don’t want it to be.
That is part of OCD!! I'm scared of being on denial too:( it's scary
I've suffered with OCD for 50 years with many different themes. SOOCD is my primary theme, and no matter which theme I may be in the middle of it always comes back to SOOCD. I'm back in therapy because after a couple of really good years, I've been in the middle of a flare up. My new therapist with NOCD, recently asked me what my core fear about homosexuallity is. I can't seem to answer that. The only answer that I can come up with, is that it is just egotistic. I'm a heterosexual man who loves my wife and raised three great kids. My question is, have. any ofyou ever been able to answer that question. I would appreciate any thoughts on this question. Thank you and have a great day.
So my ocd theme changed to sexual orientation ocd last December after I heard a popular video "hi, I'm Gibby" and I went like the Gibby sounds like "gay", then I started saying the phrase and over days, I started getting intrusive thoughts "I'm gay" .(I have had other ocd themes: (magical thinking ocd, symmetry ocd, health concern ocd, religious and spirituality ocd and harm ocd ever since I was 12, they just come and go)....I struggle with other conditions(ASD and bipolar disorder). I have never struggled with sexuality or questioned it because I have only liked males right from when I was in grade 1🥲...I still like them. SO-OCD is very frustrating because deep down I know I'm straight and there's no evidence I'm not but the intrusive thoughts and compulsions to get relief (the cycle) won't stop. I'm on fluoxetine(Prozac) and it did help my symptoms but lately I realised I'm more consumed with compulsions and idk but I think it's reducing the effects of the drugs?.. I see an attractive female and my mind goes like you found her attractive you must be gay or I want to go out and do sumn"what if you discover you like them or are gay" ...idk it's frustrating, very and I'm tired. I don't even get turned on by same sex or any😭that what even makes it more confusing.+ It's almost like I'm now hypervigilant when Watching videos or Instagram reels...it making me forget that finding someone physically attractive≠sexual attraction...idk if anyone gets me...(Rn my ocd themes are SO-OCD and religious and spirituality ocd) SO-OCD is frustrating, I'm tireddd...how can I never have struggled with sexuality for almost a decade and half but I'm having it now(it's started two months ago)...who has had/have this theme??
I have just recently realized that I had SO OCD. This began whenever I was watching porn and had an intrusive thought about the guy in the porn. It was more minor at first, it was a majority of what I was thinking about throughout the day but it didn’t feel as distressing at first. If I had downtime to think about it, it would affect me but if I was just going about my day I wouldn’t notice it. I began going through the compulsions of checking myself. This lasted for a while until another obsession occurred. Then it seemed as if my SO OCD took a step back. I would have flare ups but they would seem to pass. Recently, I had a very bad night of constant compulsions and looking at pictures and imagining things to check myself. After that night it was very distressing, it affected me to the point where people around me began to notice and ask me if I was okay. One of the big reasons I was so upset was my girlfriend, we have been together for over 3 years and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I was thinking “Oh my god, if I am gay I can never be with her.” I would sit and cry about it thinking I would lose her and that might life would change because I was gay. I finally had enough and talked to her and my parents. We did some research and I was so shocked to find out that I had a form of OCD, it was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders just knowing that other people have been where I am and that I’m not gay. However, I may have naively expected the compulsions and obsessive thoughts to go away now that I knew I had an actual problem. But I found that the compulsions and thoughts were still there and I was going to put some effort into getting better. I have researched and now know what to do when experiencing intrusive thoughts, yet I still have been performing the compulsions which is just feeding into the OCD. I find myself having intrusive thoughts and then start performing compulsions to see if they are true. What really bothers me is when I have an intrusive thought that tells me that I do like something. But when I think about it I have no desire to pursue those thoughts. However when I feed into the compulsions they just seem to feed into each other. It is like my OCD ignores all the things that I know I like and goes straight to panic mode. I am also trying to do ERP and am going to start doing my best to get better. Does anyone have any tips for not performing the compulsions no matter how anxious you are feeling and no matter how real the intrusive thoughts seem to feel?
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