I am afraid to be around children because of the horrendous things I think of while being near them. I do not want to hurt children. My intrusive thoughts about pedophilia and abuse attack me. I only have 1 memory of me being sexually abused when I was around 5. A cousin, who was about 12 did it to me and my other female cousin. I do not have another memory of it happening, so I do not know if it did. Sometimes I feel ashamed to even mention it because I know others have been abused far often than I. Like it doesn’t count. I don’t know... anyway, after I realized this memory was not just another sick intrusive thought, that it actually happened, I have been weary of being near children. I believe because I have been through sexual abuse as a child that I too am capable of committing that crime.

POCD

MJocd

Date posted: 6y

I was also sexually abused by a cousin only a few years older than me. I also never feel like it "counts" because other people have been through horrific things done by other adults. But it does. I remember the onset of my OCD being after that, and it truly affected me. I would not be surprised if the abuse you went through affected you so much that it contributed to you developing this theme. Remember people with POCD are severly and utterly against hurting a child, they avoid children at all costs. They would never, ever, ever do such a thing. You have an anxiety disorder, that's all. You're not capable of anything like that.

cheeseduck

Date posted: 6y

Crazy that y’all are talking about the onset of OCD symptoms coming up after a sexual abuse incident. The same thing happened with me, and I never knew if it was legitimate. It was an older kid at my baby sitter’s house. In kindergarten. After that is when I started having debilitating panic attacks and horrible paranoia about people poisoning me or being imposters of themselves, out to kill me. These were all related to a danger/death obsession that has since plagued my life on and off. But it’s really wild for me to hear that other people had such a similar onset of OCD

fababean

Date posted: 6y

@CheeseDuck Same. After experiencing that I felt waves of terrible nervous nausea and stomach aches. I became extremely sexual too. As a young child I had a sexual experiences with a girl my age. I still think about her and wonder if she hates me for it. I once believed to be pregnant from all the sexual feelings I had.

fababean

Date posted: 6y

Thank you. You are kind. I need to find a therapist to help me through this. I do not want it to keep me from possibly beginning my own family one day.

lizzy123

Date posted: 6y

I have ptsd from childhood sex abuse from children just a few years older than me. I struggle with hocd from it. I was abused by both boys and girls. And saw porn at too young an age. I struggled with pocd for a little bit too. Ptsd and ocd are very similar and can co-exist.

fababean

Date posted: 6y

I too was introduced to pornography at a young age. About 5. I experience violent sexual fantasies that I want inflicted on me.

lizzy123

Date posted: 6y

They may be memories. Or variations of memories. Thats how ptsd intrusive thoughts work. Fear of things happening because of past events. Are these fantasies unfomfortable?

Soniclen

Date posted: 5y

You can add me to this list. I’ve been on here before talking about developing repetitive safety behaviours as a child and then being plagued with a wide array of obsessions including sexual abuse, violence, responsibility, relationship and even paedophilia. I have had six months of therapy which has included EMDR- and frankly I recommend far more than something so blunt as exposure. I go against the grain: I think under ocd is often ptsd. These obsessions keep the brains panic under control and if that is threatened then the ptsd threatens to come out the box. The obsessions are manifestations of this. The link between trauma and nasty obsessions makes perfect sense. Explore your traumas, look at what is behind them. Maybe do exposure to drain the compulsive behaviour of life but the origin? Forget it. You need exploratory therapy, and EMDR has repeatable clinic randomised trials supporting is efficacy. Do it, a part of your brain is trying to master the abuse to counter the way you were ‘mastered’. This is natural instinct - brain sees a threat and wants you in control, but you were NOT in control when you were someone else’s sexual plaything. None of us were. THATS where your mind needs new learning.

lizzy123

Date posted: 5y

Emdr is the way to go with trauma!

happygirl15

Date posted: 24w

POCD/ Intrusive thoughts & Images

so I’ve been seeking therapy for my OCD for a few years. The theme that I’ve been dealing with most recently is the fear of becoming a pedophile, which then has led to intrusive images of me doing things to kids.Which now is just causing me so much distress and 24/7 constant thought cycle. I am starting to not be able to tell the difference between thoughts that are wanted/ unwanted- the line has become some blurry and these things are starting to feel like someothing i want to do. My brain keeps telling me to just test these thoughts and the “maybe”or”i don’t know” isn’t working. This has become such a barrier because the second layer is that I’m afraid that if I just let the thoughts be there it’ll make me be OK with doing those things and the fear is what’s keeping me from actually doing something inappropriate. It’s also transitioned into intrusive thoughts and images of me doing something very disgusting to my dog and that when I’m cuddling with him I get the thoughts to just do it or try it to see if i am actually a p*do. it’s almost like the compulsion would be to do the inappropriate thing, even though I know it’s wrong just to see how it would make me feel. I feel like i can’t control these urges even though i’ve never acted on it. At any point i could just do it. I’ve never had these thoughts before up until about a year and a half ago when my friend‘s boyfriend got arrested for soliciting a minor then all these thoughts came to life.Has anyone experienced something like this and have any advice?

POCD

please44I

Date posted: 24w

Pocd (again)

I know I'm not attracted to children, there's no proof I am and no indication that I am. Yet why do I still get these sexual intrusive thoughts? Why do I still feel so uncomfortable? Why do I feel disgusting, distressed and confused when I get them? Why do I get them in the first place yet I still don't feel anxious enough? I'm really confused about this. I'm not going to do anything to a child or think of a child that way yet at the same time It gets all over in my mind. Is it just me like uncovering some attraction to children that was buried and where would it even come from I've always been attracted to men that are older than me (not like grandpas or something but 1-6 years older) so why the hell am I even getting these thoughts now? I'm genuinely so confused and I don't want this to happen. It feels I'm betraying everyone especially myself

jazzyj4799

Date posted: 22w

I’m Scared my undiagnosed POCD isn’t OCD

Im 16 years old and female and up until very late last year and this year I’ve been having thought almost every day that I’m a pedophile or that I’m sexually attracted to or want a romantic relationship with child. I don’t know how to explain it and I don’t want judgment because I’m genuinely so scared and disgusted, but anytime I’m around children I feel my chest tighten, my body feels warm and it feels like I don’t know how to breathe. I sometimes get a groomer response but even then I don’t know if it’s a ground response or not. Also I tend to stare at children when I’m anywhere near them, I feel like if I don’t I’m a weirdo and if I don’t look at them it means I’m attracted to them which I guess could be POCD but I feel like I stare at them inappropriately. Not too long ago maybe three weeks ago I went to the park with my family and there were two girls in their swim suits and I was looking at their backsides and I felt really anxious and scared like I usually do but I felt so upset by looking at them that way and now I’m scared to go to pools or splash pads because every time I do I feel like I stare at them gross and I just feel so disgusted with myself. When I tell myself not to look I end up looking and then I stare. I feel better when I’m not around them but even then, I look back at what I saw earlier that day and I feel anxious again and then I look up what’s been happening and then I feel more worried it’s not OCD. My friends who have OCD say I might have it but I can’t get a therapist, I can’t talk to anyone I’m scared I’ll be put in jail and that I’m not a good person. I’ve never head thoughts like this until this year and near the end of last year and they come now? I don’t know what to do.

POCD

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