Groinal Response

Hi guys. I'm asking for help on different ways of approaching groinal responses. Whenever I have intrusive thoughts, like really bad ones, I can feel my heartbeat "down there". I used to always associate it with arousal so now I just feel like I like thinking about the intrusive thoughts I've had about POCD and other stuff. It makes me take a shower everytime to "clean" myself but I need help because it's exhausting. Does a heartbeat down there always mean arousal? Do I make it happen because I just think "don't happen" a thousand times in my head?

Username: RyebreadRyebread

Date posted: 19w ago

“The entire surface of your skin, your musculoskeletal system, and your organs are all wired to neurons or nerves that send sensory information to your brain. These signals are live at all times, even when you don’t notice them. Attention is what drives sensation most of the time. Focus on your hands, feet, or shoulders for a few seconds, and you’ll become aware of a low-grade tingle that is always present, constantly firing. Focus on your genitals, and you’ll notice the same. In other words, there is always a sensation in your genitals waiting to be detected.” (from psychology today)

Username: Tea and HoneyTea and Honey

Date posted: 19w ago

Here’s the first thing that will really help: You need to stop taking a shower to feel clean. That is a compulsion. This is where you will want to start ERP therapy so you can stop all compulsions. Every time you do a compulsion to “fix” yourself (like a shower), you are training your brain that the the OCD (e.g., groinal response) has meaning. But the truth is that OCD never has any meaning. Both the groinal response and the heartbeat don’t mean anything. Think of them like intrusive thoughts. You can notice that they are there. But you don’t do anything to “fix” them. You just go about your day. In order to get better, you will need to stop trying to REASON or FIGURE OUT if the heartbeat means anything or if the groinal response means anything or if the intrusive thoughts mean anything. They are all part of OCD—therefore, by definition, they don’t mean anything. Your job is not to try to stop the intrusive thoughts or the heartbeat or the groinal response. Those things are going to just happen to you (or not). Your job is to prevent yourself from doing anything to FIX those things (which would be a compulsion). When we have OCD, it is really about letting the OCD try to play all its mind games—but we do not respond to it. We go about and live our lives the way we want to. OCD is like a bully that yells at you every day. If you don’t yell back or fight back, he eventually gets gives up a bit and simmers down.

Username: Tea and HoneyTea and Honey

Date posted: 19w ago

@Tea and Honey This all might seem difficult to do, but it is the way the beat OCD.

Username: DancingDingoDancingDingo

Date posted: 19w ago

i get this too, but ive never heard of it happening with other people before this

Username: Becky234

Date posted: 1y ago

Groinal feels automatic

Does anyone else feel like the groinal response comes without specific thoughts? I suffer with POCD so sometimes I just see a child or hear someone talking about a pedophile and I’ll instantly feel the groinal and a lot of anxiety. You so often read that the groinal follows an intrusive thought, but for me it’s gone beyond this.

POCD

Username: anne.abby

Date posted: 41w ago

Groinal 🥴

I’m 29 weeks pregnant and keep having intrusive thoughts about my husband sexually abusing my husband. And what’s worse is that I’m having groinal responses. It makes it so confusing. These thoughts are obviously repulsive and make me horrified. But the groinal response makes me question if I am turned on by something so awful??? I mostly have pocd. What can be done about this? Also, I have handled my ocd in the past successfully. This feels like if I am aroused by this then maybe I need help. It’s also making me like freaked out even when I am aroused by normal things, like my husband.

"Pure" OCD

Username: ocdnoononi

Date posted: 37w ago

Need help finding difference

Tw, groinal responses (18+ convo) Can someone tell me what the difference between a groinal response and true arousal is? Is there any true way of knowing other than you don’t want a groinal response? My groinal responses tingle, sometimes feel like I need to pee or a stinging feeling (I’m a female) and it’s usually mainly focused on just the feeling between the legs and nothing else. When I’m feeling arousal (from what I know) there’s a core heat and aching up the loins then pleasant feeling. I feel calmer in this state then with what I assume is groinal responses. That’s the only way I think to see them differently. If anyone is an ADULT and would like to also talk about their experiences, leave a comment below thanks

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Groinal Response

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