A few years ago , I was pro choice . On Pinterest , I would like comments that were pro choice and saved pro choice pins to a feminism board. I was like 14-15 at max . I feel really guilty about it , Cuz I am very pro life now . If someone else got an abortion , I would have influenced their descision so I would ah e a part in that . Then again how I influence someone else with my opinion is out of my control . I just liked and pinned what I agreed with at the time . I can’t decide whether my guilt It justified . Do I have a part I. Someone else’s abortion ? ( I don’t mean to give hate to anyone who is pro choice this is just what’s going through my head .)

Hi! Any idea what you would tell someone else in your situation? Like, can you imagine for a minute your bestie came to you with the same thoughts, do you know what you would say/ask her?

Hey there, another sufferer of harm/responsibility OCD here. I can share with you what’s helped me, and hope that it’s able to help you, too. (First: meds.) Even more than “an intolerance for uncertainty,” it’s useful for me to concieve of OCD as “an exaggerated sense of responsibility” (whether that’s responsibility as in “duty” or as in “fault/guilt”). It’s okay to wish that you’d had a different influence. But imo, that’s separate from a moral responsibility. In the situation you describe, you wouldn’t have been the decision-maker, or the facilitator, or even a coercive force. You were just someone who had an opinion and shared it. The presence of a mountain does not determine whether someone will climb it, and the precense of an opinion does not determine if someone will take it to heart. I think you know this, but you’re so full of the desire to be a good influence, to protect unborn life, and also so full of the anxiety and pressure to “DO SOMETHING!” that OCD gives you, that your wish to do good has morphed into a feeling that you *ought* to lash out at yourself for your past opinions. This is where both ERP and compassion meditation might help you. ERP to help you disempower the guilty sensation—which are coming at you right now regardless of if they’re justified or not*—and compassion meditation to soften your heart towards yourself, and to turn your mind away from the idea of justice-as-retributive and towards justice-as-constructive. *Feelings are always real, but they are not always very reliable. Bad feelings can signal to us that something is wrong, but that’s not always true, or at least it’s not what we thought. And there are people who commit heinous acts but never lose a wink’s sleep over them. It’s important to listen your feelings, but the key is to learn how to use them to support your values, and also to learn how to not be overcome by them.

I feel you. I have always been pro-choice, despite the fact that I always thought abortion was "wrong." My philosophy was, "its in their conscience what they want to do, if it is illegal, people will do it anyways if they want to." After my first born, I decided I wasn't going to have more children due to my own PTSD and depression. After my separation with his dad, I dated someone else. Because Im adamant I won't have more children, I changed my tune a bit. I have stated that if I were to get pregnant from this new guy or anyone else, that I would consider abortion. Ironically, the guilt didn't set in until after that guy and I broke up, and I haven't dated anyone since. Now my ocd has begun to target my son and it has been horrible. I feel you girl

Ahh, I’m gonna try to answer this without reassuring your OCD and also without turning this into any sort of debate. (Your paranthetical note reminded me this is not a debate forum but a place for OCD sufferers to support each other.) It’s not “pro life” and “anti life” or “pro fetal death”. I tried to find the quote by Jon Stewart, but no one wants to get an abortion. I’m having a hard time with trying not to step over the line to reassurance, (maybe I already have 🤷🏼‍♀️), so I’m gonna stop this comment there and send you peace.