- Date posted
- 4y
- Date posted
- 4y
I want to tell you my story. When I was younger I had feelings for girls. In fact, one girl in high school I was in love with. We had a fling in college but nothing came of it. I would hook up with girls here and there but I wasn’t a man whore searching for sex each time I went out. I would masterbate almost every night, and do it to the fantasy of girls, but also to the wants and desires of physically looking more like some of my guys friends. Whether it be their body or hair or looks whatever. Then I started to explore gay porn. Fast forward, I tried some sexual stuff with a dude. Fast forward even more I got involved in a relationship with a guy. Throughout the relationship I started to have anxiety. The what if’s swirled around my head. Am I gay? Am I bi? Am I straight and just in this relationship for the sex? Am I one of those people who see the person no the gender? This was constant everyday and my anxiety grew into a full blow attack that last weeks and months. It would ebb and flow. During that time with anxiety, I ended the relationship and wasn’t sure what was wrong with me. I thought I had lupus, cancer, diabetes, an autonomic nervous system disorder. I would search online and my anxiety would increase. Finally, after many months of going to the doctor and having a clean bill I gave up on those obsessions ( found the reassurance). But the perseveration of my sexual orientation persisted. Every time I messed around with a dude I would think I caught HIV. The panic would set in and I would obsess over it for weeks until I could take a test. Negative result every time. Reassurance again, but after each time the reassurance wouldn’t last long and I would question the results. Am I really negative? Is my body not making antibodies to produce a positive test? The OCD doubt set in. Eventually I got over that. The next obsession that came with a whoosh of anxiety was when I though I had ALS. Panic set in for months. There was no reassurance there. Couldn’t take a test for it. So, I just accepted the possibility of not knowing. Eventually that went away too. I even forgot about that intrusive thought. After that, it was penis cancer. Then this past spring I had a terrible attack. I have a friend, her and I work together, who is amazing. She is my best friend. We spend a lot of time together. I started to think maybe I should try a relationship with her. The doubt set in. Will it work? What if I am not sexually into her? Does that mean I am gay? What if I am into her and then a few years down the road I feel I am gay and want to be with a guy? What if? What if? What if? Then one night her and I are watching Hustlers with Jennifer Lopez. At this point, my anxiety was really really bad. I couldn’t sleep. I felt like I was on speed all day. I would have to drink heavily in order to relax. There was a scene in the movie where Jennifer Lopez was all dressed up. She looked good. All of a sudden I got a huge wave of anxiety. I asked myself why? I said do I like her makeup? Do I like her hair? Do I think she is sexy? Do I want to wear makeup? Do I want to be a woman? AM I A WOMAN??? Mind you I am the most masculine guy there is. I love my beard. I liked all masculine things. I love my suits. Just I’m an all around guy. Never did anything like this ever cross my mind. In my class, students would often ask my about transgender people and we would discuss it. Never did this trigger anything in me to question my identity. But this past summer, in a state of anxiety, an intrusive thought I had stuck. Typically, I probably would have laughed at the thought in the past, but given that state of mind and with a whoosh of anxiety the thought stuck. It has been months now, and I still have the thought. Now I ask you, what is the common denominator here? The answer is fear. You can see that fear has latched on to whatever it could to stay alive. I never contracted HIV. I don’t have ALS although there is a possibility, I probably won’t develop it. I probably don’t have cancer as something would have shown up in my blood work. I am not transgender. As much as my mind brings the through to the forefront of my stream of conscious thought I know that it is a stuck thought, and I can’t engage with it. It’s like a sore tooth that you irritate with your tongue. Or a scab that you constantly pick. The longer you irritate the tooth to see if it still hurts or pick the scab on your knee, the longer it will take to heal. In closing, and what I am trying to say, is that in all of these scenarios fear latched on to something. Do I know my sexual orientation? No. The doubting disease still makes me perseverate over this, and the fear that surrounds it makes me feel that it is a bad thing. So what do I do? I get comfortable with the uncertainty, and hope that one day things will work out as they should. That one day, the fear would subside and I could try things with my best friend and not fear the possibility of it failing for whatever reason. Fear is the very thing that has caused me pain for the past 7 years. Fear will cripple you. It will make you think the boogeyman is under the bed. When in reality he isn’t.
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- 4y
Thank you for sharing this!! You're really strong to have got through this struggle and still going...my best wishes to you!
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- 4y
Thank you for sharing. That’s hard to go through. How you had sexual experiences with men and dated men, i dont want to do that with woman. I’m not scared too in the way of judgement, but i just don’t want to. It makes me uncomfy and sad.
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- 4y
I have the same problem as you. My SO OCD is really bad and I don’t want to be with a woman and it scares me for whatever reason, but that fear also fuels my scrupulousity and makes me think “what if I’m just being homophobic and a bad person” I hate it so much. It makes it worse that I don’t know what I’m afraid of. I know a part of me is afraid of people being mean, homophobic, or just unreceptive to me if I ever came out as gay or bi. But there’s more to it I think. I’m afraid of something else and I don’t know what it is and it makes me fear being homophobic again.
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- 4y
YES! This i have as well. Horribly too. However i dont fear people’s reactions. I can careless tbh. Everyone i know would be extremely supportive so i know thats not the reason. Right now atm it feels like id be fine dating a girl when last night i was crying. Idk whats up. I just wanna be normal like my friends and attracted to guys so badly :(
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Have you had any sexual experiences with woman?
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No i dont wanna
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Why does it sound like i like women?? Does this not sound like hocd??
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Does this sound like denial? Please be honest with me
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- 4y
@hate_ocd.123 Fear will drain you if every other emotion. It will take over if you let it. The more you move away from the fear, the bigger it becomes. Think about the boogeyman under the bed: the more you think about him under the bed, the greater the fear that surrounds the possibility of him getting you while you sleep. But what if we move toward the fear? “Hey Boogeyman, I know you are there.” That’s is. Nothing else. The fear begins to loosen.
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@maestro90 The boogeyman is just a thought. Nothing more.
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@maestro90 So your saying, face the thought head? I’m just trying to figure out how to get better im so confused
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@maestro90 But the fear is holding me back. I feel like its true and im just lying to myself. I heard the term feelings are not facts. Thoughts are not facts. Cause ocd messes you up comoletely and tries to make you what you fear. In order to rid that you have to face the fear and strip your fear away.
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- 4y
@hate_ocd.123 The thought bothers you because it isn’t how you view yourself. The thought fuels the feelings, and then the feelings fuel the thoughts. The thought gets stuck because it bothers you so much. The OCD attempts to protect you from the actual event by repeating it over and over in your head. Think about this: so far in your life how many time has a weird thought popped into your head and you just dismissed it? It probably wasn’t scary and you just disregarded it like all the other thoughts. But this one thought about your sexual orientation scares you. You don’t want it to be you. You know what you want, yet the fear makes you think that it is real. That it is truth about you, just like the fear makes you believe that the boogeyman is actually under the bed.
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@maestro90 Is it fear that makes you think you want the thoughts and feelings ?... i said in my head i feel like there is something within me trying to get out 😞
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@maestro90 So the fear is blinding us with ocd? These thoughts we have (cause i have another obsession about being a bad person) contorts our image so badly of who we are that we literally can become a version of ourselves we dont know because of the fear induced by this thought? For example, when i begin thinking im a bad person and feeling like a bad person i become more moody and lash out on people. Then i use those example to justify and confirm i am a bad person. Is that kind of what hocd is doing as well? It contorts our image on ourselves?
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@Ihateocd83 I think it is the thoughts just being in your head and the fear asscociated with the thoughts makes one think it is truth. Fear will try to make you believe something is true to protect you.
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@maestro90 Also one thing you said “ocd attempts to protect you from the actual event by repeating it over and over in your head” Are you saying this is protecting me from the reality that i’m gay?
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@hate_ocd.123 Is it possible that the lashing out at someone is just a product of the frustration of the tug-of-war with the thoughts in your head?
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@maestro90 I have really bad loss of attraction to women and there gentials is this possible?
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@hate_ocd.123 Are you gay?
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@maestro90 No i dont think so i dont want to be with a woman
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@maestro90 Does it sound like i am and the thoughts are just protecting me from the truth that I am gay?
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@hate_ocd.123 Fear is meant to protect you. Keep you safe. The OCD just repeats that fear.
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@hate_ocd.123 This question is seeking reassurance. We can not do that. It fuels the obsession.
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@maestro90 That’s just what it sounds like your saying. Like “the fear is making you believe your gay, but the intrusive thoughts are protecting you from the truth that you are” Idk my ocd may be contorting this too
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@maestro90 Im confused
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@maestro90 Reassurance provides temporary belief though. Can i at least ask, is this still ocd? Or am i just crazy?
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@hate_ocd.123 I don’t think this is about what is true or what isn’t. It is the fear that surrounds the thought that makes it feel like it is a problem.
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@hate_ocd.123 Definitely OCD.
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@maestro90 All i do know is that im just tired rn and i’ve been far too anxious tonight. I need to face the fear head on. I’m scared to do that cause im scared i won’t be straight after. But you know what, i’ve liked boys and seen them as romantic partners since i was five. Even when i know what being gay was by 7 and asked if i was at 11, i still had crushes on boys. Till this day I’ve never wanted to be with any girl in my life. I never saw them as romantic partners as a child. When we got close, i called them my sisters as i never had one and wanted one. Never chased them around on the playground and called them cute like i did with boys. Wanting to be with a girl and being scared of wanting to be with one is two different things. And ive wanted to be with a guy before, so i know the difference. That’s a pretty good, reassuring foot to step on towards this monster.
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@hate_ocd.123 Now my ocd is trying to put false memories in my head LOVELY 🙃
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@maestro90 What you said earlier: I think i know myself and that’s why this is scary. Are you saying I don’t? What do i even have if i can’t even trust myself and my feelings and thoughts and wants. This is confusing me so badly i can’t do it anymore:(
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I feel exactly the same you are not alone .....
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I hate life sm rn
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I'm in the same boat...I'm so so scared of becoming my thoughts or being so deep in denial that I don't even know my true self...I relate to everything you've said
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You feel how i feel?!?!? I thought i was the only one whose this bad
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No not at all.... everything you've said I've been freaking out about it and coincidentally today...it's like suddenly I find men extremely gross and I hate that fact
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Omg so you relate with everything i said? Like down to the core?? Im sorry i just felt like i was going crazy all day and didnt know if this was hocd still and had the biggest anxiety attack only moments ago. Its good to know im not alone
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@hate_ocd.123 Yes I did relate to it ...like A LOT...my mind is literally a mess and I want something but my body and mind says the opposite and I'm so so done with this shit ....I can't take it anymore
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@Lleonesss Ahhh im sorry you’re going through that, but its so good to know im not going crazy. I feel the exact same way and i hate it. Its one of the worse things i’ve ever been through. Does your mind also question like “why do people even find men attractive?”
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@hate_ocd.123 Does your ocd make you feel like you want to be man/woman ? And its what you want ?... makes me think like im in denial 😞
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@hate_ocd.123 Yes at times ...it's like it says what is there to like about men .. they're boring or gross...look at women they're all beautiful...I hate this
Related posts
- Date posted
- 15w
I’ve completely lost myself. I can’t focus on my studies, I can’t go to the gym. Dang it I can’t even be around my male friends normally anymore. I got no idea why or how this happened but the only thing I know for sure is that I never questioned my sexuality neither doubted it. I never cared in general. I just liked girls. I keep testing and keep testing and keep testing my arousal but no matter how many times I see but I don’t feel the same way for guys that I do with girls my mind will always try to make me believe that I am gay. It’s like it’s forcing me into an identity I never asked for. But at the end of the day like my psychologist told me. Sexuality doesn’t change. So since I never felt anything for guys in my life it’s ocd. I’ve been up and down for 5 months now and while the last week I was feeling way better. Monday now and I’m back to zero. I just want to go back when everything was normal. I can’t keep living with this.
- Date posted
- 15w
Like I can’t think straight. This is making me doubt everything I’ve thought about myself and even makes me feel like I like the thoughts when I know I don’t. Like I would be less anxious at a time while I still have the thoughts and my mind would go “oh so you like it you must be gay” or the other one where I’m not anxious and I think of my attraction for girls that I’ve had my whole life and my mind goes “see now you’re not into them you’re gay” like it’s so stupid but so effective. I clearly remember being into girls my whole life but my mind is making me believe that all these attractions and feelings for women were all fake or “a thing of the past”. But I can still get aroused by women but I have this weird anxiety going on which brings these sensations/feelings and it’s so weird. Today I’ve spent my whole day thinking about it like I’ve been doing for 5 months now. I know that this aint normal but my mind just won’t let me live in peace. I never cared about my sexuality cuz I simply liked women my whole life but now my sexuality is a fundamental philosophy. I hate this.
- Date posted
- 14w
As a lesbian with SO-OCD, I feel so helpless. It's truly exhausting because no one I know understands what I'm going through. The first response is always, "You're just confused" or "You don't have to know yet." But that's not the issue, I do know. I just never see any lesbians with SO-OCD so I feel so invalidated. These thoughts flood my brain constantly, forcing me to analyze my reactions to every man I see. I feel trapped in an endless cycle of "testing" myself, trying to prove that I don't like them. But my brain fights back, telling me I do want to love a man, making it feel real even though don't want it. It's terrifying. At this point, it's hard to even hold onto my identity as a lesbian because I'm so overwhelmed. I don't know if this is what real attraction is supposed to feel like, and that fear eats away at me. The truth is, when I think about being with a man, all I feel is disgust and fear-but my brain twists that into doubt. I hate it. I'm at the point where I'm scared I'm going to have to accept something I don't want because I don't know if this will ever go away. I miss who I was before all this.
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