- Date posted
- 3d
New to ROCD- anxiety surrounding opposite gender
I am new to the term Relationship-OCD, but I didn’t find myself fitting any of these themes until I became long distance with my partner (dating) a few months in the relationship because of college. I tend to care about my looks, fashion, and being perceived as an attractive person, (all of which I think is normal for humans when I truly think about it,) but the thought that I only wanted attention from the opposite gender has caused fear in my mind. This causes me to dress down to look less attractive at school, check/overthink any time I move or say something if I am in the viewpoint of a somewhat attractive person of the other gender (worrying that I’m doing something for attention, even if it’s something like a certain facial expression,) avoiding the opposite gender and trying to look away from attractive people to make sure I’m not “checking them out”, “fixing” my posture and facial expressions if I think I am standing or have a face expression that can be perceived as attractive, etc. I have kept riding waves of guilt and anxiety, and I feel more bad that the opposite gender has been constantly in my head (even though its not about wanting someone else but just because of the hyper awareness of people) while I’m in a relationship with someone I want to spend the rest of my life with. Again, I’ve never felt this hyper aware of anxious of simple interactions or going out in public before, even when we weren’t long distance yet. (Though looking back, I can see the start of some small compulsions). Can someone give me advice for overcoming this?