*This mentions pretty dark things so if you think youāll get triggered, donāt read*
I have a question for people who deal with real event/false memory. I hear a lot of people say they canāt remember if they did something or not, but theyāre sure theyāre guilty. Does anybody have a memory that theyāre sure happened, itās so vivid and you just know it happened, and then when youāre out of the ocd cycle, it just doesnāt feel real anymore?
When I was a kid, I was overly sexually. Not only did I start doing sexual things at a young age, but I also had a lot of really dark thoughts. Today, I do have some issues with things Iām attracted to, but only in a passive āI should probably talk to my therapist about thatā kind of way and Iāve heard the things Iām into are actually very common. What I thought about as a kid though are much darker. I try to give myself some grace with some of them because I was a kid and had no idea what it was, but of course, I feel disgusted.
Anyway, i know that I had these thoughts and feelings when I was a kid, but there are some things I didnāt think I did until the past few years⦠I had one childhood āmemoryā come up⦠Basically, it was having a deliberate thought about an animal when I was masterbating. It felt 100% real, I was sure I did it and I wasnāt sure how to handle it. When my OCD calmed down, it suddenly felt much more foggy, and now it doesnāt feel accurate. I know for a fact Iāve never been attracted to animals, but Iām worried there was a different reason for me having that thought and itās true that I intentionally thought about it and did it. But now it doesnāt feel real.
On top of that, I also know I have never been attracted to children/babies. I have memories of getting thoughts about pedophelia and most of them I have memories of brushing them off but Iām terrified thereās one I am absolutely terrified I touched myself to. For this one, I was certain it was real but I was trying to convince myself it wasnāt, or will it to not be real. It was very vivid, but it also made absolutely no sense because Iāve never wanted that, ever. And if this is true, how could I ever forgive myself and move forward in life? Well, now it doesnāt feel as real. Iām terrified I tried so hard to convince myself that I succeeded and now I think it didnāt even though it did. I also realized I have no accurate memory of where this happened, how old I was, etc. For a while I was terrified this happened when I was older but I have no real memory of that. This made me relax for a second because I thought āmaybe that means it didnāt happen or thereās something Iām forgetting and it was an intrusive thought that I pushed off like the restā but then I quickly realized it really doesnāt mean anything and I could be a horrible, sick person.
I know for certain Iām not interested in these things. But I know I used to struggle with dark thoughts, and hearing people talk about false memory the way they typically do just makes me feel like it absolutely canāt be that so it mustāve happened. I donāt know how to even function with these thoughts.