I feel like I'm flirting with every girl I talk to now.I'm gonna kill myself :(

My friends, stop checking. It is doing you no good. Don’t actively call up thoughts to see how you feel. A brief reminder that if you anticipate that a feeling or thought will be romantic, or are trying to imagine it is a romantic capacity, it will probably be romantic. People can be romantically touched by relationships between members of a different orientation than oneself without wanting to be that orientation. You’ve got this.

Do you guys get feelings of being with the same sex ?. I really dont want this 😞

I know it’s horrid. Or I feel like they’re flirting with me and I truely want it but my brain has suppressed these feelings so deep and I don’t even realize

I imagined a guy coming home from work all dusty from work and it felt like i liked it 😞

but it doesnt make me happy

I dont know what it is ?

i dont want to be with a man. And im so scared of losing my family 😞

it makes me feel so distressed and unhappy

I dont really feel anything ?. I just get a feeling in my chest and stomach like an anxious feeling

Can hocd do this im so distressedl. I keep breaking down eveyday i cant keep doing this

I didnt call the thought up it poped into my head 😞

What do you mean no matter the outcome ?

Do you take medication mate ?

Ihateocd83, bro, not to be abrasive, but you picked 1 phrase out of an entire paragraph. Your OCD is in control. Take control back from it by letting go and not analyzing every thought as if it is the truth. Right now, my head is bombarding me with uncomfortable and intrusive thoughts. I am not checking a single one like I would have a week ago. Do the same. You can get through this.

I was on Prozac. Haven’t been on it for a while. Not recommending it. I am an undergraduate studying Biochemistry, so the inconsistent sleeping schedule this semester knocked me off my cycle and I just stopped taking it.

Not recommending going off of it*

Ive been taking it for 16 years. I came off it for 3 months and shit just got a lot worse for me. So im back on it 2 and half months in and im still feeling shit

In my perspective, medication can only serve as a supplement. It makes it easier to do the therapy needed to break free (stoping the obsessive rumination and checking). While it certainly might help with anxiety and with the intrusive thoughts, it won’t likely help with the doubt. Work on stopping the checking. Work on ERP. The meds are a boost, and a pleasant surprise if they do more than you suspect they will.

They seem to be taking ages to kick in ?

My point is, if you are just waiting for the meds to kick in, you are missing a vital part of treatment. If you could just wait for OCD to go away, people would not suffer from it for years. It needs to be actively treated from a behavioral end. Do your ERP. Go out and actively try to get better by exposing yourself to anxiety inducing material and staying mindful (not checking, not freaking out when you feel something or your mind tells you something). You’ve got this man.

Cheers mate 👍

Cheers right back at you my friend. Don’t go checking or analyzing the thoughts now though. If you start freaking out or acting on the compulsions, just imagine me telling you to stop that shit lol.

I dont really know what my compulsions are tho mate ?

Yeah, it can be tough. Alright, so I have a couple questions.

I have heard you say your mind will just throw a picture of a shirtless construction worker into your head. Do you analyze that thought and keep on pulling it back up to see how you feel?

Yeah sometimes mate things a bit more graphic aswel

i keep thinking i look gay aswel or im talking differently

Same for me on both of those things. It tends to be a lot more graphic for me as well. So, analyzing how you feel, bringing the thought back into your head and all of that are all compulsions. I used to sit in my room for literally hours trying to imagine myself participating in graphic things. It was very anxiety inducing and always felt wrong, almost as if my mind was raping me. Still, my mind was telling me it was enjoyment or excitement because of the feeling in my stomach and chest and the groinals. Analyzing doesn’t help and it doesn’t give you any answers. Intrusive thoughts are one thing (something that just pops up, like seeing a good looking guy and your mind tells you that you are attracted). Trying to analyze whether you are actually attracted and bringing the face or graphic images or imagining yourself in a situation with that person is not an intrusive thought. It is checking and it is a compulsion. The compulsions start to come automatically after a while so you think that the checking is an intrusive thought. You have to stop the checking. That doesn’t mean avoid the thoughts or situations that trigger them. It means just sitting in the moment without freaking the fuck out and trying to figure out if you attracted to that person, and then how attracted you are, and then if you want to engage sexually, and then if you want to marry (whatever the freak out progression looks like for you). You get what I am saying?

I think so mate. Its so hard tho its like my brain automatically does these things

i defenetly dont want to marry a man lol 😞

Yeah, it is tricky. It gets easier though. I have cut back drastically on my compulsions. Still have everything else, but less anxiety and happier by and large.

I cant watch football without thinking of guys in the changing room. I hate it 😞

Then watch football man.

Let the thoughts pop in. Just don’t check them or analyze them.

I do and just have lol. Thats why i said it

You might hate it, but that sounds like about the best ERP I can think about. A bunch of sweaty dudes in tight clothing lol. Gives me anxiety just writing that out. I would start by watching football like 30 minutes a day. Having discipline and not letting yourself get up or look away. Just sit there and watch. Don’t analyze or check the thoughts.

I woke up this morning thinking about a certain guy i saw years ago on playing it straight. Im so depressed 😞

Yeah, mornings are rough man. Always feels like whatever progress you might have made goes away in the morning. Just an illusion. Don’t give in.

I keep breaking down 😞

Why do i think my ocd is different to every body elses