*Trigger warning* I did something stupid and looked in the DSM at Pedophilic Disorder, and of course, freaked myself out. A lot of people always say you can tell your thoughts are unwanted because they cause you distress, but in the DSM distress is also listed for Pedophilic Disorder. Basically now I'm scared my thoughts actually ARE wanted. Of course, I was always scared they were wanted, but seeing it in the DSM makes it feel so much worse because what if? Any advice?

Anything you google or look into online can trick you into thinking you have it. For example, i had this rash thing on my leg once and googled for like hours and thought it was all sorts of scary things but then it went away in the next couple of days. It was nothing but I really thought I was gonna have to go to the hospital and they would tell me I had a blood clot or was gonna lose my leg. Next time you get that urge to google something, ask yourself if it’s really necessary to google it(usually if it’s related to your theme, it’s not necessarily to research if) and if you find you shouldn’t research, come on here and vent. Tell us what you’re thinking/feeling. We can help you. I also struggle with this theme and reading your post did trigger me a little, but that’s okay because I’m going to think of it as exposure. And I want to help you. Acceptance is the next step here. Accept that you gave into a compulsion to google, accept that you read information that caused your OCD to spike, accept that you fear you may be a pedophile, accept that you have OCD. Accept everything that has happened and accept that you are only human and humans can’t control their thoughts. I think acceptance is always the number one step in recovering. Don’t forget to accept that you will be okay, too. A few bad months don’t equal a bad life, okay? Right now, make the choice to recover. Tell yourself “I’m going to choose not to google or look into this any further. I’m going to choose to recover and help myself and my mental health. I have support through this app and if I need it, I can go to therapy.” Remember you always have a choice.

Yes so don't search it up anymore lol it doesn't help and makes your ocd become more believable and instead just remind yourself it's ocd and do your ERP steps . I know how difficult it is cause I suffered from the same stuff and did the same thing and trust me don't bother it is useless

@0823 Thank you so much for your response. You are very helpful and I'm glad I found this app and all of you people. I always appreciate when you comment on my posts so thank you ?

Man you’re braving for talking about it, I’ve had issues with psychosis and this was one of the things I feared too at one point, more likely that you care for children a lot and went through a stressful time where you doubted yourself.

Yes it's difficult but honestly doesn't help at all.

You’re welcome, I’m so happy I helped you! ?

Well let me say this. Not to give you reassurance but, before these thoughts happened did you have any distress whatsoever? I wouldn’t rely on only one source.

@Wes yeah I know I always look into things thinking "I'm gonna regret this" and then guess what. I do. When will I learn! @letsgo If I'm understanding your question correctly, yes I've always been an anxious/depressed mood person.