If there are any female HOCD sufferers, I would love someone to talk to. Trigger warning for sexual content below I was never turned on by photos of naked men. But as a kid I could get turned on by pictures of naked women and still find that more arousing than men. But I’ve always loved and wanted men. And now sex with my husband is really hard. I’m losing it again. Any help is appreciated

Thank you. I’m just concerned because of my history with sexual images. That seems to be very clearly a lesbian thing even though I don’t desire women? I don’t know, it’s really bothersome

@wellwellwell Sexual images are just that, sexual. They are intended to illicit a sexual response, regardless of the viewer’s gender. This has been a hard thing to remember when dealing with OCD but it has helped immensely in the long term. Your brain is also heightened to sexual images of women because you have HOCD, so it is natural for there to be an increased response.

@mallorycg4 That’s true; but this has been a thing since I was a child for me

@wellwellwell I’d definitely recommend learning about nonconcordence arousal. Our bodies are programmed to react to sexual content even if our brains don’t like it.

@mallorycg4 I just wish abs turned me on too

@wellwellwell I definitely relate, I think some of it is the HOCD taking away innate attraction. I finally was able to be intimate with my husband tonight with only maybe 2 intrusive thoughts. Also, might be a random question, but do you take any hormonal bc?

@mallorycg4 Yeah I do! And I wish, I haven’t been intimate in so long. Are you aroused by pictures of abs?

@wellwellwell What kind are you on? My HOCD started due to hormonal bc and I also have another good friend I met in a PMDD support group who has HOCD as well. Usually mainly men’s abs, although I do get groinals over women’s abs sometimes in my ERP which is distressing for sure.

@mallorycg4 Oh god I don’t get aroused at all by abs and that really terrifies me. And I don’t know for actually.

@wellwellwell I know other women who aren’t aroused by abs at all! You’re definitely not alone. So bc is very subjective. It can be tricky to find the right combination of hormones and the right types and ratios. For me, bc with estrogen caused the HOCD. It made me CRAZY and now I’m on something with progestin only and I’m doing a lot better. There’s tons of women in my OCD support group that had it come on due to bc or childbirth or menopause. So there’s absolutely a connection to hormonal imbalances and chemical imbalances in the brain.

@mallorycg4 I may try to switch then! Thank you, that’s good to know

@wellwellwell Definitely. It may not be a cure all but holy cow did switching help with the intensity of the thoughts.

I found porn at a super young age and I definitely associate boobs with sex

Have you ever experienced not being turned on by pictures of naked men? That kind of freaks me out. Like a shirtless guy doesn’t turn me on but doing sexual stuff to a guy does?

@wellwellwell yes i understand. ug it sucks bc i think it’s so so hot but i can’t necessarily get turned on. i want to tho bc it’s hot. and i like men uggggg

@ihavehope I like how men look too but seeing that doesn’t arouse me either. I’m sad about that too

@wellwellwell it just upsets me. ug

@ihavehope Do you get turned on by sexual images of women? I get that bu I never want sex with one I don’t think and the thought of that makes me cry

@wellwellwell i relate to this. i think becayse shirtless men aren’t sexualized, I grew up around male nudity.

@lolashewas Were you ever aroused by boobs

@wellwellwell in porn, yes.

@lolashewas Same