- Username
- paufli
- Date posted
- 4y ago
Well done for getting control of your HOCD, as the person above said, try to use the same tools for your TOCD. You could look at it as “If I am trans that is okay. Currently I feel content as this gender. If i want to identify as something else in the future I can. I don’t have to decide right now.” Not sure if I’ve worded that right, but try to see it like you said “I have a bf now, but maybe I could be with a woman too and that is OKAY”. At the moment you are happy and that’s what matters. With your TOCD you could think see it in a similar way. I cannot speak for everyone, as I myself am not trans, but I think trans people often know they are actually a different gender to the one they are born as. It is highly likely that your OCD has latched onto this because being trans is more openly spoken about now and it provides you with another doubt. Also when I had bad HOCD, I tried to look at the fear driving the thought. For me I was scared of being homosexual because I thought it would mean I couldn’t possibly be with my bf. But then I learnt to accept it’s okay, if I am not straight, I am still in love and happy with my bf - so it doesn’t matter as long as I feel happy and okay. You could see the same with the TOCD - “it scares me to not know what gender I am.” “I have always been X gender and have felt secure as that until these thoughts” “if my thoughts are correct, that is okay, because at the moment I feel comfortable as X”. Also gender is a very fluid thing - personally I think that your TOCD is OCD but if there is something behind it who cares - you don’t have to change anything about your identity you don’t want too. It’s okay to be unsure and to go with how you feel right now, because it will become clear. If it’s a possibility for you, please try to get some therapy or professional advice - don’t suffer in silence xxx
Thank you so much, these are some really good advice. I actually did therapy for a year and i take meds since last August. i've been doing pretty well since. But in quarantine is hard, sometimes i forget about all my progress and i worry about being in the same position as last year and that scares me. When the thoughts come back i'm like okay this is it, this time it must "mean something" and then i remember it's just the obsesions talking. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement, i appreciate it ❤️ have a lovely week
@paufli Hi there, I haven’t been clinically diagnosed with OCD but after doing copious amounts of research I believe I do. I have been suffering with TOCD. I have never wished to be a boy or transition to be a boy or even dress like a boy. I have always been truly content with being a girl and I still am. But I remember in grade 7, mum and I were watching a documentary on a transgender male and his story. And it lowkey scared me bc I was like imagine living your life in the wrong gender that would be terrifying and then I randomly asked myself “am I transgender?” And that sent me into an orbit of distress. But then it literally went away and I realised how irrational it was. Over the past 4 years the thought would rarely pop up and I would realise that I don’t want to be a boy and that my brains just being a bitch. At one point in around grade 9/10 I was afraid I was lesbian (possibly HOCD - it was very distressful) but then I came to the realisation that I’m attracted to boys but I wouldn’t be oppposed to the idea of being with a woman if I was in love. But 2 months ago the thought popped up again (am I transgender?) in the holidays and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. It has completely taken over my life and I can’t come to a definitive answer, it’s driving me f****** crazy!!!!! All I would do is research trans stories and ruminate and pull my hair out. I used to be so happy and so worry free but now I feel anxious and I can’t get some peace at mind. All I want is reassurance that I’m a cid female and that I’m not a male but I know that only feeds the OCD. I’m also terrified that one day I’ll wake up and will want to be a man and that I’ll have to transition. Or I’m scared that I’m might be in denial about being trans and that this whole ocd thing is just me lying to myself. I’m so sorry to spring this all on the internet but I honestly don’t know what to do or who to talk to. I wanna live my life as a woman but these trans intrusive thoughts are making me quesiton my core identity and it’s terrifying and I don’t what’s real and what’s not. :(
This is so awful and I feel for you so much. I can literally feel the ocd anxiety on you. It’s awful. But it is lying. The thing that helped me the most in HOCD was I realised I don’t care if I’m homosexual or not. I know that does work for everyone but I just thought okay I like women, and then I realised maybe I do... but I like the person I’m with and who cares.
I know it’s so hard but by saying it’s okay, it takes the power away from it.
Thank u so much. It’s honestly so hard and terrible and my ocd is telling me that I don’t even have ocd. Ugh thank you though your replies mean so much!! ❤️
Hey, first of all I’m so glad to hear you’ve gained control over hocd, I’m currently struggling with that so if you have any tips please share. For your TOCD, I would apply the same methods you did for hocd, you’ve been your gender your whole life, if you were any other gender you would know. You’ve got this!
Thank you! I had hocd when i was 15 (im 22 now) and i managed to be okay with it by doing things that were out of my comfort zone, i went on an exchange to another country but that was actually for my Social anxiety but i think it helped me with ocd in some way. Just thinking okay im Happy now im proud of my little achievements, i don't have to worry about my sexualuty all the time, im not certain but that's okay, i don't need to be. I hope that helps you a little. Have a great week!
Hi! I'm sorry to hear that, I totally get you. I know it's really hard and exhausting. I recomend you to get some professional help, that helped me a lot, now i'm taking meds and i feel better. The thoughts sometimes pop up again (specially before my period)but i also understand that everything is harder because we are in quarantine. I hope you feel better soon and don't worry you will get through this. If u ever need help you can talk to me. Have a wonderful week 🥰
@tylee161
Thank you so much, it means the world to know that I’m not alone and that I have someone to talk xxx
@tylee161 @paufli
Hi I'm a cis girl from India .I recently have this tocd for 22-23days .How are u feeling right now do u feel okay?
and also before my tocd I had hocd which I guess is better than tocd
Hi! Yes, i'm feeling okay. With medication and therapy everything is better. I hope you feel better soon 💜
@paufli What kind of therapy did u get? I think it will be really nice if u share ur therapy experience.
@deepikaaa Erp with cbt. It also helped me to read a book named overcoming intrusive thoughts by sally m. Winston
@paufli Great, thanks for ur support!
@paufli Between may I know ur age? I'm just 15 and it's really a hell in TOCD
@deepikaaa I'm 23 but I was 21 when tocd appeared. I was 15 when I had my first intrusive thoughts about hocd. You'll get better, look for professional help and support from friends and family
@paufli For how many months were u battling tocd? And for me it's really hard to find a therapist cause I'm from India
@deepikaaa Which country are u from?
@deepikaaa Argentina 🥰
@paufli Was it easy to find a therapist there?
idk how to explain this but i’ll try the best i can lol: ok so one night i was in bed and scrolling through this app and focusing on not doing compulsions for my HOCD (hearing other ppls stories can trigger me sometimes so i use them as exposures). anyway i read a post about someone who had HOCD & TransOCD. i thought “poor guy, that must be really hard”. then of course i thought “am i trans?” but i didn’t even worry about it because it’s one of those things that just isn’t something i need to worry about you know? it almost seems silly to worry about haha. anyway, the thought didn’t give me anxiety—almost at all (because for me it’s just a no brainer). then i started to get all worried about getting TransOCD, even if i really wasn’t fearful about becoming trans. so basically, i know i’m not trans, i’m not questioning who i am, and the thought of being trans doesn’t really make me nervous or afraid (because i just know it’s not true)—i’m just worried that this will turn into another OCD type...and THAT is what i’m obsessing on. how do i help that???
how do you guys really get yourself to accept uncertainty? when i watch ocd videos and read articles, i think i’m understanding what they’re trying to say. after all, i’m okay with not knowing if i’m gonna get covid even though that’s much more likely than, say, running someone over with my car, but the idea of never *truly* knowing the answer to one of my themes is what trips me up when the panic is horrendous. and when the panic is that high anyway, the theme feels real enough as it is. so what can i do? what were some strategies you guys did to better accept it?
I've been struggling with my gender identity since about 2018 and have reached the point where I am currently on hormones. For a little bit I thought I was a woman but as time has gone on I've settled more into nonbinary as an identity. Now that I am on hormones, I'm noticing that some changes are positive in my mind and some give me a pretty decent amount of distress and doubt. I then discovered that TOCD is a thing and it's kind of thrown me for a loop since I already know I have OCD. I already had doubts but now I'm like, "Could I just be lying to myself and I actually have TOCD?", "Is this just a transphobic diagnosis that keeps people from living as they want?", "Is it possible for me to have TOCD and still be trans/nonbinary?". I'm going to have to talk to my therapist about it but in the meantime I would love some help understanding this whole issue. Thank you.
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