Guys lately I've been feeling very sad and confused,scared,like I used to know for sure it's hocd,guys now it feels more real,like I never had it.

Imagine I'm feeling automatically attracted and aroused by same sex despite I don't have any desire for them,even without checking ,it's like my attraction switched,I'm sad guys,scared,it's like I don't have intrusive thoughts anymore,also I need to muntion that when I experienced thoughts before they never aroused me.

I'm sad,is it common guys in hocd?.

Guys it's not about thoughts,it's about feelings,cause whenever I got ones and say it's hocd and I'm not gay and try to reassure myself by remembering the true me,my mind goes:if it was ocd,you have to feel afraid,you have to get a thought before a feeling,you have to check yourself to feel something,but you feel it automatically,you are in denial.

I feel I've been robed by god itself,I just I don't think I'm gay or bi but my mind and feelings keep pushing it on me to be,but i will never.

I don’t understand how to navigate all this as a 26 year old straight man I’m just so freaked out over if I’m bi or not even tho I have never been into men any shape or form? Can your sexuality just flip like that? I was always under the impression that after puberty your attraction doesn’t change.

Do I just ignore the thoughts and stop compulsions?

i’m exhausted. i had it the first time in 2016, treated and controlled very well for years, and now its back. i have such a loving husband and the relationship i always dreamed of, i am sure of what i am and what i’m not, yet when hocd comes nothing is rational and wins the argument.

i feel so SO alone cause no one knows what my ocd theme is and i am too ashamed to share, and i also know some people might think its just denial and/or homophobia. we, who have hocd, know its not that.

i just wanted someone to understand me and even tho i dont wish this ruin upon my worst enemy, i wish some of my friends would have so i could feel seen, validated, understood.

i feel like a kid crying for their mom and the mom is nowhere to be seen or embrace me.

Hi everyone.

My post is more for women in relationships.

I’ve been struggling with HOCD for quite a while, and I’m trying to understand whether anyone has experienced something similar.
One thing that confuses me is that penetration itself isn’t really the problem. What makes me uncomfortable is French kissing or having my breasts touched/kissed. Sometimes I feel embarrassed, and sometimes I even experience a sense of disgust.
The problem is that years ago I watched lesbian porn, and I remember that breast touching or kissing was something that could be arousing in that context.
Is the discomfort because my brain instantly associates it with lesbian porn and then panic starts?

Has anyone with HOCD experienced something similar?

I woke up feeling horny to masturbate to men so I did and when thoigjys of women came in I fejt no arousal. As the masturbation and stimulation. progressed I found thoughts of women arousing whilst feeling the way I did before hocd and o decided that I was feeling arousal to the women and didn’t care and I’m not freaking out but now I’m stressing why I’m feeling like this. Every time I have thoigjys about naked women they give me urges to masturbate to men abd at the time of the thought it feels so good and arousing. In other words when I’m stimulated the thought of women feels so good then this leads to alarm bells ringing why I reacted like this

I’ve been dwelling in the above all morning, so I just went to masturbate again cos I felt horny I allowed thoughts of naked women whilst doing so and it fejt the best cos I fejt the way I did before hocd. So I repeated the sequence again cos it fejt so good whilst allowing a thought of a woman in my head. I’m not even anxious!!!!! So am o really masturbating to women ??

Hi guys! I need help/motivation to stop using AI. Currently I use Gemini (although I have used ChatGPT before, i js don't use it anymore.) It started with asking ai the list of symptoms of ocd (hocd in my case) but lately i have been searching situations abt ppl with hocd and how they show up. Like groinals, butterflies, etc. to see if it applies to me and if it sounds similar to what i went through. But then i start asking abt what im doing right now, like: how do ppl with hocd ask ai for reassurance, what questions do they make, what do they feel, what triggers them to use ai. and i genuinely cannot stop using it and ik its bad for my mental health and also i am an artistic person so ai isnt something im very glad for, but like, yeah. i have lost sense if what i have is ocd or not, and idk what to do to move on. im only 15 but i have been told by many that i am very very veeeery emotional mature for my age, which idk if its bad or not lol. but yeah.
Like today I would open a chat and type "what triggers a groinal" and then i would open a new chat to ask the same question and see if both matched. THIS IS SO EXHAUSTING.
I need a break.
But i can't stop. Even on days i dont feel like searching anything, i do it bc of the fact I'm not getting the urge to search. And then im like "is it normal to not use ai for 1 day after using it everyday for 2 days?" its js ridiculous.

I am on therapy but i cant follow what my therapist tells me to do. I'm also on sertraline.

Hi. Im a 21 year old male. I think I recently developed HOCD around 6 months ago. I apologize in advance, but it’s going to be long and I don’t know if all the information will make sense.

Base info: I have been suffering from depression for years and anxiety became diagnosed more recently. Have been on antidepressants for a while and I switched to a new one somewhat recently (within the last year.)

But it really picked up around 2 months ago. Right now I feel somewhat numb, but I’m sure this will change. So for now I want to get this out without thoughts being emotionally charged. As long as I could remember, I’ve been going after girls. From elementary school where I didn’t know why I was doing it, to middle school, and in high school I believe I wanted girls too. That’s where I had some problems start. I had a crush on probably 4 girls throughout my life and 3 were in high school. All 3 of them didn’t want me. I started becoming extremely insecure about my physical looks. I also used porn pretty frequently. Probably once a day on average. I believe to straight porn and to the girl aspect of it. Then I started worrying about the size of my dick, then how long I could last in bed, then if I could even get it up. It really ate me up, and I was terrified to get into a relationship. But I wouldn’t even get there because before I could get into a relationship, I would always find some “ick” about a girl (makes me feel gay even using that word). The two that I remember was one being not intelligent enough and another girl had hair on her neck. It wasn’t until 6 months ago that I had a thought around one of my roommates. It was “I like being around this guy”. For some reason it felt really feminine. I thought at that second that I wanted to be around him more. The thought “am I gay” began to pop up more. My libido felt low, but I was still using porn a lot. I wouldn’t get horny to anything. Except for porn. One thing that made me insecure was hearing my roommate was always horny and had 15 bodies.

Now to the HOCD stuff. It started picking up in intensity around 3 months ago. I began asking my therapist of 8 years and my mom if they thought I was gay. They would tell me I’m not. I began asking more and more because it began worrying me more and more. Until one day I had almost a panic attack. I was asked what if I am gay, and my heart started pounding and it was really hard to breathe. I wanted to pass out and die. It scared the fuck out of me. Since then I’ve been talking to CHATgpt all the time. I feed it all the information from my past and the present. I feel like I am unable to type everything out. I began to question everything from my past. Every friendship with a guy, the times I used porn, when I thought guys looked attractive. All this stuff. And I still worry. Then I question everything. For example. I had sex with a girl a month ago. I started to have more intrusive thoughts that I didn’t use to have. I thought “what if we kissed” or “what if we held hands”, I even tried to imagine what sex would be like with them (my close guy friends). I had to use Viagra because of how nervous I was, but I still did it. I don’t really know if it felt good or not I feel like I can’t remember. And just 2 nights ago I masturbated while FaceTiming the same girl and was eventually able to cum. But I got an erection, why am I not convinced. Why do I have this doubt. Everything seems contradictory, I’m worried that HOCD is just here to help me find a reason for it to not be denial because if it was denial then it would be true. What if the info I am giving isn’t enough or entirely true and I am just typing this to get reassurance. The thoughts never stop, the what ifs don’t stop, and the contradictions don’t stop.

Right now I am not getting hard to women like I used to. I’m don’t feel attracted to women and I get anxious when seeing attractive men.

Not sure what to do, not even sure why I typed it. I just feel numb and lost. I don’t feel like a man (not in the I want to change genders, but in the I don’t feel masculine enough)

Let me know your thoughts if you have the time.

I'm 23 years old male and i'm suffering from intrusive thoughts, feelings, checkings all the time, have groinal responses and get aroused by men even if I don't find attractive the person. I have always been attracted to girls, and I was deeply in love with them. I Always enjoyed to see their body, and their face, i think women are just genuinely gorgeous and beautiful. And I was attached to them emotionally as well, my soul has desired a girls soul since my childhood. But I have never had so much success with girls. I had a few unrequited love some of them was really painful and became real trauma for me. I had never have a girlfriend but I really wanted to, but sometimes I felt it's just doesn't for me and there won't be a girl who could love me.

So once my brain just told me, what if you would be gay. It's probably much easier than with girls. I said what? I've never could attracted to them, and I've Always seen them As my friends or mates. But somehow I started to analyzing them and testing myself and I couldn't tell at the start its attraction or admiration. Actually I had been stucking in a severe depression and loneliness and burn out for so long, I had hard life without it too, and suffered from many other things. I don't really remember when and how exactly but there was a point I saw an attractive Man and I got arousal and I thought I became gay or bi. After that its even get worse every sign of gayness happened to me I guess. I was desperate and I was crying trough nights in my bed because i didn't know when did it get so wrong. Intrusive thoughts started to fill my brain, especially dicks jumped in my head or imagined I suck a dick, and I need to run to the toilet cause I had to vomit by msyelf.

I have porn addiction and I became really anxious and frightened about dicks since I saw a girl sucking a dude and I had a fear that I liked it from the girl's perspective.

It got worse day by day, I had panic attacks(i had never before), suicidal thoughts, because i didnt wanna live that way if I really turned gay. I started to feel uncomfortable in changing rooms, got unwanted arousal on the Street It scared the shit out of me. Then i started to have dreams about dicks and I got up with a T shirt full of sweat and I wanted to cry cause I didn't know what a hell is happening with me. I always wanted a girlfriend or a wife in the future and I felt they took of the possibility of this life from me, and It caused me high level anxiety.

False attraction and intrusive thoughts started to feel real, and I started to reviewing my past and searching signs in my teenage. I've Always been the silent kid had a very few friends, and I was late ripened kid, when I get started to have feelings i was about my graduation, at 18 and half years old. After I was remembering these things, I lost attraction to girls and there was the point I felt just gave up lying to myself and It's the time to realize I really become gay. I couldn't look in the mirror but when I tried It, I didn't see a gay people in the mirror or just I didn't want to. The worst about the whole thing was I still could get arousal by men. I was disgusted by myself but after a Time, started to think maybe I like my intrusive thoughts and this freaks me out still to this day. I can't decide anymore I feel real or false attraction to man my brain always try to convience me that Im gay or bi in denial, and if im bi, I will turn to fully gay.

I even came out to my sister She was totally fine with it She's bisexual As She says it about herself. I told her what im going through and the other day it was like it disappeared. My attraction to girls came back and I could enjoy again seeing their bodies, I was happy for 3-4 days, but the anxiety and the groinal responses came back again and I just dont know what I am anymore. Another problem that Im trying to do compulsions with porn and when I lost attraction I cant get an erection to woman and it makes me think my whole life is ruined.

I have no idea its HOCD, Bi, Gay in denial with internalized homophobia.

I cant consider myself the most masculine guy but Im trying to behave and appearance like a man who's straight not bi, not gay just normally straight. Cause I hate feeling gay and im trying to prove myself im a real Man who likes girls, Strong phisically and mentally.

I miss the days too when I went to drink with my friends after a long day and we could talk about girls, man things ect...

I just want my normal life back

I’m not gonna do the Entire story spill but if it would help I’m 24 straight male obviously before this I only liked girls then one night had a thought what if I turn gay and as illogical as it is I can’t shake it and going on lgbtq forums definitely didn’t help to say the least, to be honest I do just wish I could have a talk with a scientist that tells me that won’t happen but I doubt that I have had the same fears with schizophrenia, harm, trans and pocd they all went away after a new fear rose and they all kind of went along the same thing “what if I wake up and murder my mom” “what if I wake up with schizophrenia” etc fortunately for me I don’t get groinals and definitely don’t get turned on by gay porn but I digress

I really just want to know the steps on how I can eventually get over this obviously I know it will take time I just want know what to do like when I thought arises I also don’t have the resources for therapy so any advice would help

I'm tired. I'm in the best relationship I've ever had, and I'm tired. I can point all these times I've been at my happiest with him (we're long distance for another month) and my "brain" lashes out accusing me of lying about every past experience. I don't feel genuinely interested in anyone else but my brain feels almost predatory in how much I keep glancing at women. And it's hard being bi/pan because idk what genuine attraction (not that this isn't normal) and what's made up in my head, but I assume even if I was just a lesbian, I wouldn't be ogling every woman within 50 ft of me. Masturbation feels so weak (my "brain" seems to be latching to the idea that my attraction to men is just gone now) compared to how it used to be but I think with how depressed my neverending thoughts (that I'm lying about my feelings and my true self) have made it where I don't think leaving to find a woman instead (which I don't want to do) would actually feel too much better. I just feel like a shell of who I used to be in this 4 year long relationship. And I don't want to give up on him, and I'm not, I just wish I was more normal, he deserves better than this.

Edit: it just seems like my ocd is worse than anyone else I know

I feel like I’m having similar thoughts as someone with TOCD has, like over analyzing their masculinity, but instead of it making me think it’s because I want to be a trans man, it’s making me think it’s because I’m actually a masculine lesbian. Has anyone else experienced this because I’ve seen no one talk about it really. Every woman is triggering me and has been for a couple months now. It started off more minor but now it’s everything, like their voices, names, things they say, everything. I’ve never been super feminine, I liked dressing more tomboyish but did enjoy dressing more feminine sometimes. I feel like anytime I try to be more feminine now, it just feels forced and fake. I used to feel comfortable with being the way I was but now I’m second guessing everything. The only relationship I’ve ever been in has been long distance/online, so I’ve never had sexual experience. I would always fantasize about men though and feel excited about having a boyfriend one day. Now that I do, I have so much anxiety. I was fine for the first few months but ever since I had a bad ROCD episode once things became more real with us, I’ve been having HOCD/TOCD? Now, it feels like I wanna be like my boyfriend and take on the role he does. Every time I see a woman it’s like I imagine the things he would do/say. I miss feeling more feminine. It’s so conflicting and I have no idea who I really am now. It’s like my fantasies aren’t who I really am and they are separate from reality. I used to love to fantasize about my boyfriend and the things he would say to me, but now it feels like if I were really in that situation IRL I would feel uncomfortable and weird… which would only prove all of these other thoughts are real and I’m so tired of this. It feels too real sometimes… like 110% real.

how can you tell whether a thought is actually yours (ego syntonic) or not yours (ego dystonic)? i struggle a bit with understanting the difference and how to take care of it, dealing with it better

Recently I have developed feelings for this girl that lives near me, this has happened about 4 times since hocd started (having a crush) but everytime I get near her or start having butterflies or whatever it’s like my brain instantly goes “your gonna wake up gay next week” or some kind of thing and then I end up just stop pursuing them

Over the past 2 days i've made many posts here, and still i'm like in the biggest spiral of my life.

I feel like I am bi-sexual, and it feels like i've realised that but i'm in deep denial about it, since I desperately don't want to be queer. I've been straight my whole life, but had a curious childhood regarding alot of same-sex material. I don't ever think i've liked women before, but it feels like I have. I am convinced that i am actively suppressing my attraction and desire for women or masc women like many of the people who realised that theyre bi in this subreddit, it has to be right? Or am i convincing myself that im straight and that im in deep denial? Someone that I previously dmed outside of this subreddit went through SO-OCD, and told me i was bi with a preference. I get that it isn't the same experience, but i feel like im convincing myself and suppressing my attraction.

I feel like I feel attraction for women, i KEEP CONFUSING masc women for men! I see a masc woman, think its a man, i find them hot or maybe think theyre hot, and then i find out theyre a woman and then i say 'oh nvm!" and then the thoughts start. Then, i try to convince myself that i don't find them hot, (even though i dont think i do, but im extremely scared i do and im scared im lying to myself). Now, women just completely remind me of men, before this never happened! I feel like my attraction has shifted. At the beginning i was scared of masc women, since they reminded me of men, mimicked movements id usually find hot on men. Now, it just feels like i like them, like even theyre faces look hotter, they look hot. They look exactly like men, so why shouldn't i like them. I'm getting more and more thoughts where its like i find them hot, and i panic and say i dont find them hot. So, what the heck is going on! I know for me i dont like masc women, but i feel like i do, and it feels like i do, and i feel like im just bi. I have to be right? And, whenever I see a conventionally attractive masc, i literally look for reasons not to like them. THAT HAS TO BE SUPPRESSED ATTRACTION, IT JUST HAS TO.

Above all else, i feel like im sexually attracted to women. I feel aroused by everything, and feel like i like women. I feel like i could get off to women! What i did when I was younger also genuinely distresses me so much. I feel like I have to be sexually attracted to women at this point. I remember seeing a video like today, and i thought 'this is very kinky' cause it was sexual in nature, but i was uncomfortable. But was it the OCD that made me uncomfy or me? I remember being aroused at looking at naked pics of female bodies when i was checking to see if i was aroused. I remember when i was 10 and used to watch erotica, i used to be aroused by lesbian p0rn, and female focused p0rn.

I feel as if i'm in deep denial about this, this guy told me i had an ocd convincing me im bi, and one thats convincing me im straight! I am so scared that this is real, i just want to be straight. I think this whole HOCD/SOOCD thing is coming because im not good with change or something and also because my past themes have come true so this has to be true too right? I thought OCD was supposed to be ego-dystonic, i really wish i had another theme. Please someone out there, please help.

So, i think im bi. like ive accepted it and it makes sense. Yes im apart of the exception. I feel calm and happy i think but i still feel very anxious. someone told me im on the lgbt spectrum, i saw so many posts where people ended up bi and i relate. Everytime i saw a masc lesbian, i was so scared i liked her, and spent time convincing myself i didn't, therefore suppressing my attraction. I had so many childhood moments and i think i did like a girl when i was a kid. i used to get aroused to female p0rn and this all suddenly makes sense. I secretly want someone to prove me wrong yes, but this is probably who i am and i think im lying to myself if i say im straight.

This is my zillionth post here. But, i feel worse and worse every single day. I feel like realistically i have to be queer, i've had so many experiences of being queer and i feel too 'weird' for me to be straight. I feel like I secretly had feelings for a girl when I was 6, but never said it out loud. I've seen so many people turn out queer after their HOCD, and i feel like i have a strong feeling thats me!!

I don't know what to do, I feel so depressed and scared every single day. Why is it so bad to be queer in my brain? Why couldn't I have a theme that was actually 'justified' for, like morality. I feel completely hopeless, and I don't think i can even love a man anymore. I don't trust myself, I feel like the OCD is helping me realise things. Someone out there help me and save my mind.

Guys I promise you it gonna be the last time ,but I have question,when it starts I used to be triggered by everyone even children,then latched to clean shaven men ,as soon as i recognized that any one see them handsome as they are handsome dudes it latched to ppl I used to think they are unattractive,now I feel like I'm attracted to them and have feelings in my body like arousal,is this common guys?going from triggered to feel attraction (hope it's false) to few ppl who selected by my mind and keep me in a circle I never go out from,cause tbh my mind goes ''u see if it was hocd ,it should evr1 like first ,not few like now,you are gay.''

i’ve really been getting better recently with my recovery journey, and i’ve been thinking back a lot to when i was first on this subreddit and heavily struggling with my ocd. there’s a lot of stuff i wish i had known and understood earlier, so i’m gonna share it in case it can help people! it‘s important to note that i am now on zoloft and do therapy pretty consistently, and not everybody experiences the same things. so you can apply this to your current scenario however you’d like.

1. remembering what ocd is - at its core, ocd is a disorder that hijacks your brain and makes you think it controls everything. but apart from those pesky little groinal responses, your body often tells the true story. when i met my boyfriend in person for the first time this week, my heart was beating out of my chest and my knees were going weak. you can’t just force yourself to do that and make it up. it may be terrifying that your brain and your body don’t align, but it’s often genuine proof that your head is making things up to scare you.

2. find something to believe in/have hope for - i personally am a Christian, and find a lot of comfort in believing in God, going to church, and praying. it has definitely helped me through the majority of my struggles, but i know religion might not be everybody’s cup of tea, so this can apply to literally everything. have fun events/exciting life developments coming up? look forward to them and believe that they’re going to go well. have dreams outside of romance, sexuality, etc? focus on achieving them.

3. get comfortable with the uncomfortable - this may be hard to hear, but you’re never gonna recover if you avoid everything you’re afraid of. start off slow at first, of course, but not living your life is exactly what the ocd wants. you need to go out in public, watch movies, hang out with friends, literally everything. staying holed up in your room and not doing anything reinforces your fear and makes you worse.

4. delete social media until you’re mostly recovered - instagram and tiktok are a bitch when it comes to triggers, but aside from that, they’re also just terrible for your mental health in general. obsessively watching reassuring videos about hocd or doom scrolling for hours is not going to benefit you in any way. not to sound like an overbearing mother, but go outside or read a book or something. it’s a better use of your time.

5. fill up your day - connecting from the last one, it’s a lot easier to be distracted when you’re actually doing things and being active. try to stay engaged in your hobbies, exercise if you’re into it (or even just do a quick walk/bike ride), and avoid long periods of the day where you’re on your phone or alone with your thoughts. i personally make schedules and check things off so i feel accomplished, but there’s lots of ways you can keep track of your progress.

6. realize it’s not that deep - i know this is easier said than done, but your sexuality is such a small part of your life, and even if it’s important to you, you have to treat it like that in order to get better. the world is vast and life is short, there are places to see and things to experience. your ocd WANTS you to forget about all the good parts of life, but do not let it do that. you are strong and can find ways to enjoy things again. additionally, you might have to get used to the idea of being unlabeled for a while.

7. have confidence in who you know you are - this one can be a bit hard because sometimes it can cross over into self assurance, but it’s important to understand something. your sexuality cannot just change overnight, and even if you wanted to explore or were uncovering things about yourself, no person experiencing that has crippling anxiety and intrusive thoughts. that would be ocd. also, remember that YOU are the only one who knows the truth about your identity. you have to try and disregard the forums you’ve been on or the people you’ve talked to, because how would they ever know the answer more than you would?

8. know that it’s gonna feel real as shit at times - hocd completely convinces you you’re not your desired sexuality when it’s at its peak, but once you get better, it grasps onto the fact that you don’t feel anxiety anymore. this is when it’s the most challenging, because you start to think you truly were in denial. having anxiety over having NO anxiety is a backdoor spike. it doesn’t define you or mean anything.

9. YOU HAVE FREE WILL - i left this for the end because it’s the most important one! feelings and thoughts can’t stop you from actually doing what you desire. there were multiple times my ocd told me to break up with my boyfriend or come out, even when i knew it wasn’t what i wanted. you have to fight like hell and defy it, because at the end of the day, what’s stopping you from being the real you? literally nothing.

i am here for any of you if you need to talk or want any more advice/tips. remember, you are strong, you are loved, and you are more powerful than these demons. i believe in you all ❤️

I am a man 26 yrs old. I’ve been dealing with this since I was maybe 20? I’ve questioned my sexuality off and on and pushed myself to at least try being with a guy. I did not like it at all and threw up after sleeping together. You’d think I’d be like hmm ok I’ve gotten an answer but it shifted. I went from testing myself to using it as punishment against myself. After that I actually found myself in a relationship with my current gf and it’s the healthiest relationship I’ve ever been in. In the beginning my compulsive behavior stopped for months but after a bit they slowly came back. And now I’m almost hitting rock bottom. I watch gay porn to test myself or go on chat sites to talk to guys just to get a quick nut. And I hate it. Every time I go on or watch porn my face frowns in disgust at myself and my mind screams to stop. Yet I continue and I feel awful after. It’s went from testing, to using as abuse towards myself, and now a stress/anxious coping mechanism. I can’t see a therapist atm and I want to. I have no problems being bi but when I think or try to act on it, it just doesn’t feel like me. I just want to curl up and cry because I love my gf and I want to stop. It’s just been hard trying to when it’s years of doing something. That was all.