Triggered by family photos

Hey guys, my obsessions revolves around taboo themes which include sexual intrusive thoughts about family members. One of my biggest triggers is caused by photos of family I have around my home. I feel that as soon as I see a family photo my mind tends to sexualize it. I still keep the photos up since I know hiding them will only make the ocd worse. I also try to sit with the anxiety/discomfort/uncertainty caused by the photos and not ruminate on it, not try to “figure it out”. How can I overcome this trigger? I feel like my mind is so conditioned to think of sexual content as soon as I see a family photo which can be a bit discouraging. I’m hoping that with time, and not responding to my trigger, my mind will slowly start to not sexualize these photos. Can someone please provide any advice?

Username: MichelleVMichelleV

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 44w ago

You’re doing what you should be doing-and it’s wonderful you know how to confront your ocd. I’m proud of you for keeping the photos up, even when it’s hard. The only advice I have is that with time, your thoughts won’t be so strong. Continue to not engage with the thoughts-the more you assign them as bad or think of how stressful they are, the more your ocd will latch on to them.

Username: Hopeful$7Hopeful$7

Date posted: 44w ago

@Anonymous- Appreciate the response. I feel that I do tend to label the thoughts as “bad” and think of how stressful they are which is probably inhibiting my recovery. Thanks for the advice I’ll remind myself of this going forward.

Username: ListenToTheWindListenToTheWind

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 44w ago

If you can’t not ruminate you could start at a lower exposure. What’s the lowest exposure you could do without ruminating. Also don’t catastrophize when you do ruminate. And make sure you are actually ruminating not just experiencing the intrusive thoughts. Those are different. Your goal can’t be to stop having the thoughts. That may happen, it probably will happen. But if you watch that box, those thoughts can’t leave your mind. And then you fail and feel like crap. Instead focus on response prevention. You got this 💪

Username: Hopeful$7Hopeful$7

Date posted: 44w ago

@ListenToTheWind-Thank you. I understand what you mean by saying my goal can’t be to not have the thought since by its nature an intrusive thought is something we can’t control. There are times where I look at the photos and don’t have sexual thoughts, but then I start to remember that at some point in the past I did have sexual thoughts when looking at the same photo. I then start to feel guilt, shame, and then the rumination ensues from that. It’s like my brain is saying, “oh look how happy your family looks in that photo….but remember that time you had a sexual thought about them!” Then it’s off to the races with rumination.

Username: ListenToTheWindListenToTheWind

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 44w ago

@Hopeful$7 Guilt, shame and rumination aren’t harmful - and they pass. Focus on noticing that when you expose yourself to the photos instead of seeing them as failures or tying looking at the photos symbolically to your condition or an unpleasant memory. Try to orient yourself ahead of the exposure when you can ‘I’m about to look at something that causes anxiety and usually I overly fixate on my thoughts and feelings but this time I’m going to look - not to fixate but to teach myself it’s not dangerous and I don’t need to be phobic of it. To rewire my response.’

Username: tasha123

Date posted: 5y ago

So a couple of days ago I was reading through some posts on this app and came across someone talking about incest ocd. I was triggered almost immediately and have been having these thoughts about my brother and having imagery in my head about him (I saw his nudes when I was being nosey on his phone one time) and now can’t seem to get it out of my head. I just want these thoughts to end I feel so weird I can’t even be around him. Also, my anxiety isn’t even that high which makes it feel more real. I haven’t been anxious with a lot of ocd thoughts lately and apparently this is a sign I’m getting better because I can carry on with my day as usual. But it does feel more real and like I like the thoughts. Please help.

"Pure" OCD

Username: Anymous

Date posted: 1y ago

How to deal with my thoughts?

Okay so everything is literally a trigger for me due to my family members due to my covers and due to my own clothes and also animals Espically my dogs.Okay so I’m in high school still young these thoughts started happening around this year and has became worst to the point I had to go to a mental institution this summer around June I struggle from sexual ocd where my mind literally sexual everything and I do mean everything I can’t look at my animals because I’m afraid I would want to look at their butts or other areas so I just don’t look at them or my sister we sleep in the same room together I have a bed and she has one I use to like to toss and turn to get comfortable so I would flip sides over again until I fall asleep but now I can’t do that because I use to have a thought of looking at her butt so now I just lay on my side facing the wall I’ve been doing this for the whole summer because she goes back to college in August I also hide my family faces from my preview when we’re all in the living room watching something so I don’t see their private parts what made me go to the mental institution this summer was me having the thought of looking at my sisters underwear drawer I tried to bear the thought by again covering the drawer with my cover from my preview or just looking at my phone all day or making myself go to sleep but o end up just telling her to remove it from our room after a couple days later I couldn’t look at my family faces which made me go to the mental institution because I was afraid I was never gonna be able to look at their faces again the mental institution did not help because I was surrounded by kids I also suffer from pocd so I was triggered a lot I would also not look at their faces or even speak to them only if they spoke to me I was there for five days so when I came back home I got a little better but now I’m back to spiraling and I feel like I’m finna go insane again also when I came back home I literally learned all my siblings who were girls was molested expect my oldest one including me and the sister who I’m scared to look at butt who I sleep with was molested by my father and my other sister was molested by my cousin I as well was molested by my cousin not the same one as my sister my mother isn’t very mentally healthy so she of course felt guilty because she believed it was her fault so she started I guess I would say taking it out on us a little so that made me go insane I even started hitting myself repeatedly we went on vacation after the same day and this asshole of a man keeps showing up at our house I just need a little advice how to cope since I know people up here are a little older than me so any advice I’ll take it please .

Username: Anonymous 25#

Date posted: 31w ago

Anyone?

Anyone deal with sexual thoughts regarding family members? Makes me sick. I know it’s OCD and I’m constantly trying to remind myself I’ve been here with other content before but it’s so disturbing. Also has anyone had past themes resurface again? Thank you in advance to whoever shares.

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Triggered by family photos

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