POCD / In tears at family gathering/fear of touching? Any advice please. 34 y/o male. Have been suffering with POCD groinal reactions, ROCD, scrupulously, etc for many years. Does anyone fear that they are trying to touch or rub against people? Sometimes this thing will happen where something will provoke me to move my body (like turn around or move out of the way of something) and I’ll worry that what’s actually happening is that I’m trying to rub against someone. This happened last year at a party I was at where a woman walked by and I moved away to let her by, but was really worried that I had actually tried to touch her. The same thing happened again today only with my 11 year old niece. Having POCD, I have had horrifying groinal reactions/false arousal around her. God, I hate this disorder. I would never dream of doing anything inappropriate to her. OCD has been a terror to me for the last few family gatherings. I think something got my attention in the line to get food from the kitchen counter and I turned to get out of the way. In the split second that it took me to turn around, I heard one of the kids in our family (couldn’t tell if it was my niece or nephew) approach. I am really, really worried that I had an impulse to rub against my niece in this split second. I was horrified. I would never ever under any circumstances try to do something inappropriate to my niece, but I’m worried that my body just did it on its own. Turns out, it was my nephew standing behind me and I didn’t even touch him when I turned around. I am relieved that I didn’t bump into him, but I can’t help but wonder - what was my intention? Did my body really move to touch what I thought was my niece? Anyone relate?

Play with your niece,stop avoiding her let the thoughts be there,they are automatically generated they are not from you,Do not react with fear,Stop analyzing, ruminating and try to find their purpose,You shall have tremendous anxiety,guilt,shame and all sorts of feelings that’s part of OCD.Go to parks toy stores and let the thoughts be there ,They are false.Expose yourself to fears it is your only way out.These thoughts will come but don’t forget you are opposite of them.Don’t react to them with fear.The more you react with fear the more your brain ? register these thoughts as important and it will send you more of them inorder to protect you.TRY VERY HARD NOT TO PAY ATTENTION TO THEM AND GO ON WITH YOUR DAY.RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE AND FOLLOW YOUR VALUES MY BROTHER INSTEAD OF YOUR THOUGHTS ?

I just got home from residential and sleep w my mom when I have a hard time (20 yr old female). Her hand touched me while she was sleeping and I had a full on panic attack. Did I like it? Did I force her? Was I aroused? It’s so hard. You’re not alone, and you’re not a problem or predator. It’s ocd

I can totally relate. The thoughts race around my head like someone else has control of my mind. Mine started years ago with hocd, but now it’s gone into pocd with specifically my 2 year old granddaughter as the focal point. When I get theses thoughts I want to kill myself. It is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever thought of

My brother used to walk down the middle of the road to avoid pavements where he might brush into someone. Said he preferred to get run over than risk brushing against a young girl. Even when doing that he would still ask for reassurance that he hadnt made contact with anyone.

His behaviour was 10x more extreme than any other case I’ve come across & now he’s almost completely cured.

I hate being touched I had family gatherings last 2 days both days I broke down contamination ocd cant touch people or things or objects or they cant touch me causes massive problems . I'm 44 years old had this 23 years but this theme is new since july I bloody hate it . Hope ur ok it's so hard when around others

Hello inkblack, Please know that my heart goes out to you. Thank you so much for your courage and strength in sharing your post. I'm a 39 y/o male who has suffered from POCD and Harm OCD for many, many years. OCD is an atrocious illness, and it has robbed me of so much. I'm determined to beat this. Through love, support, medicine, CBT, and ERP, I hope to eventually get to the point in my life where OCD takes a back seat, instead of being a main driver. I have taken Paroxetine (Paxil), 30mg/day for a long time, and it has been good for me. You may want to inquire about with your doctor to see if it may help you. Be assured of my prayers and thoughts. Wishing you much healing and wellness.

In health, Determined