How do you manage spikes? I’m a female who suffers from HOCD. I was reading the book “Brainlock” and I got to the section of Reattribute. Doing another task to counter giving into my compulsions. I decided to take the extra step and do ERP on my own by looking at images of lesbian couples. I’m finally getting treatment after 6 years of dealing with it off and on. More “masculine” lesbians trigger me the most. I was able to stand looking at the images for awhile but I could feel my anxiety at basically 100% but I kept going. Then I felt like I actually liked the images. I didn’t have a groin response but there was a jump in my chest, a emotional response. Like, I was genuinely attracted. Like the attraction was there and my mind was confused and disconnected from my body. I had never felt this way before. For two days now I’ve dealt with a feeling of anxiety sitting in my chest. I don’t want to eat or sleep, this is the lowest I’ve ever gone. My body feels like it wants that. I haven’t been to sleep and when I do, the thought is waiting when I get up. I feel like I may actually want this and when I try to accept it, my mind won’t let me. So then I’m sucked back into fighting and I feel like I set myself up when I should have avoided it. I see my new therapist Monday, but if you’ve experience this or know any encouraging messages that can help me get through it till I see them, it would be great.

You are not alone. I have that chest tightness feeling. You have to allow it to go through you and resist google searching or reading forums to see if your symptoms match. If it didn’t feel real, you wouldn’t have ocd about this. Accept it “feeling real” as as thought, acknowledge and move on to something else. Otherwise you’ll end up analyzing why you got that feeling and it spirals into more compulsions and a worse form of HOCD.

if u don’t want a certain emotion or feeling to happen, u will most likely experience it which is why u feel like ur attracted to them. the whole point is to accept that maybe u are attracted to them, maybe not. you just have to learn to be okay with that. it’s hard and it’s painful but that’s just what erp is ://

When you start resisting compulsions, your brain will double down at first. It REALLY wants you to do compulsions, so it will send new intrusive thoughts/feelings/urges to get you to cave. Don’t. This is perfectly normal for your theme. And you should expect to keep dealing with it for awhile. Face it and don’t run away. Every time you use compulsions to avoid these things you only show your brain just how important/right/scary/real these thoughts are to you. And you take away an opportunity for yourself to see them for what they are: just thoughts you don’t need to do anything about.

The physical sensations associated with different emotions overlap a TON. the less we read into our sensations, the better. Your heart jumped. That happens sometimes. There are loads of possible reasons-including anxiety

How do you do your ERP I also kind of get triggered but by the opposite “femine” looking guys

So helpful thanks. I'm trying! ❤