i have pocd, but some posts i see with other people talking about their experiences look like it might be pedophilia, and i get so scared because some of these posts are liked and encouraged by the community. i just keep being afraid that i’m making the wrong choice based on some things other people tolerate. i’m so confused and uncomfortable, i don’t know how to deal with this
Heyyy! Shhh Its okay! I’m there for you now, you’re not alone in this! If you feel comfortable to share or elaborate more, I’m listening! <3
thanks, i can elaborate more. i’ve been back and forth with this community and my own thoughts, and it just feels so confusing, sometimes. some really messed up people can try to fit into this community and post here, and it makes me question my own self sometimes. with my own experiences i’m still not fully comfortable in letting go my themes, but seeing all of these people in the community feels more like i am guilty and just in denial or something. i’m just skeptical with this whole thing, that’s all
To be honest, I think I know the posts you’re talking about. There’s one user on here who keeps making different accounts and uses this app as a confessional to ‘admit guilt’ and seek reassurance about things that seem to cross the line. He admitted to actually making small sexual advances towards someone that he knew didn’t want it and that’s so so different. Thankfully it was someone their age but still very not okay. People who are actually attracted to children or are otherwise sexual deviants take action and actively seek out what they desire. That’s a big difference between a bad person and someone who suffers from OCD. OCD is ego dystonic meaning that your distressing thoughts are actually the opposite of what you’d want to happen. I do wish people would stop using the community feature as a way to confess their guilty feeling. I’d imagine a chunk of the uncomfortable posts (that aren’t made by that one guy) are also just the OCD speaking, so someone says their intrusive thoughts as though they mean something and then that sends other people into a spiral, it’s just a mess really.
being completely honest, when i was first spiraling i confessed on here too, but i’m genuinely concerned for some cases on here. those types of people being in the community make me doubt a whole bunch of things and it’s really not helping seeing these people here. i do think it’s very possible that people are saying their intrusive thoughts as if they’re true, and i get wanting to villainize yourself because it’s feels so bad, but it’s just hard seeing all of that sometimes. i hope i’m making the correct decisions
@Eldian I completely understand what you mean. I think one of the biggest things that gets confusing with OCD is the difference between having an intrusive thought and actually wanting or choosing to do something. A thought can be extremely disturbing without representing someone's intentions or values. I also really agree with what you said about the confession/reassurance cycle. I think a lot of people with OCD, myself included sometimes, can feel such an intense need to explain every uncomfortable thought and get reassurance that it doesn't mean something terrible about them. But that can easily turn into another compulsion and keep the cycle going. And I definitely agree that posts like that can affect other people with OCD too. Someone might already be struggling with a certain theme, see a scary post, and suddenly start analyzing themselves or questioning whether their own intrusive thoughts mean something. It can become a spiral very quickly. I think the community is most helpful when we can talk about our experiences and support each other without turning every intrusive thought into something that needs to be confessed, analyzed, or proven innocent. Sometimes the healthiest response really is to let the thought exist without giving it a trial. Thanks for bringing this up. I think it's an important conversation for the community.
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