I HATE having sexually intrusive thoughts about family members and especially around holiday season I'm around family ALL the time, I'm dreading it so much. I'll be going back home from college and I have a feeling I'm going to get ill again

I’m sorry to hear that I didn’t at first but it started to get easier for me because it showed me that I literally just did/acted how I did before I first developed this theme. Maybe it can get easier for you soon! Or you can find more methods to battle this.

So the real reason your fretting going home is because You’re already telling yourself that you’re going to have intrusive thoughts about family members and sexuality. Go into the holiday Season with your family and try this. Try and call on anxiety. ERP would suggest that you would try and actually initiate that was intrusive thoughts think of them as much as you possibly can think of them until you get bored of the thought ! By not being afraid of the thought it won’t come back and when it does see it for what it is... Just a thought ! Thoughts can not hurt They simply can not ! It’s how we react to our thoughts that is problematic and gets us in trouble. 95% of all people admit to having intrusive thoughts and the other 5% are full of shit. The only difference between people who do not suffer with anxiety disorder and the people who do is nothing more than the differential between their reactions of the thoughts they have. Irrational or rational you make the choice you already know that what you were thinking is completely irrational so pay no attention to the Reaction of the emotion you get from the thought. As soon as you can train your brain to laugh at this shit and truly know and believe in yourself then you will be in your way. One thing my psychologist recommended in ERP was to write down all of my intrusive thoughts tape-record them and re-listened to them every single day for 30 minutes over and over. What happens is your brain starts to havitualize to be intrusive thoughts. It gets bored of the thoughts and sees them as less value than when you try to suppress or try not to think of your thoughts. And that is exactly what you’re doing so what I’m telling you is to actually think about the thoughts laugh at them think about them as many times as you possibly can and really try to just let go. Sit with the anxiety and let it pass. When you let your thoughts be they will let you be and that quote comes from an individual that is recovered from OCD. Also take it from me , I was someone who struggled with the most sick thoughts that any human could have to the point where I’d rather die then continue to think the way I did. These days I still have the same old thoughts from time to time but I’m quick to see them for what they are and just move on. It’s not easy. It takes practice but your brain is fucking powerful and when you put it to use in the ways that you are capable of, you will be amazed at what you can do. Go home , enjoy the holidays. Don’t forget to think of all your family members buck ass naked and having sex and laugh your ass off every time it happens !! Good luck and merry Christmas to all of you. Curtis

You can do this! This is how I felt being around my boyfriends nephew on thanksgiving with my pocd was tough but it was actually good exposure therapy I was fine of course.

): I don't do too well with ERP

I've dealt with this all my life. For many years this theme has always been here idk what to do to make it. Go away

Sometimes I'm better at handling it but now that I'm away at college, when I go home it always reminds me how horrible it is