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What is OCD?

Discussion in 'General Support and Advice' started by Jax12, Oct 20, 2014.

  1. Jax12

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    So I've been looking up what OCD is in terms of sexual orientation and relationships, and all of it seems to fit in my case (and I'm well aware of how inaccurate online information can be).

    For a while I've been finding out whether my thoughts of older men were just part of my orientation, and whether I'm straight or not, but actions such as groping and "unwanted sexual acts" are exactly where my problems are. I think about it lots, and it makes me feel guilty knowing that I have these thoughts:

    Just like violent thoughts, recurring unwanted thoughts about inappropriate or taboo sexual behavior frequently occur in OCD. Patients may imagine for an instant that they are going to grope their coworker or molest a child, or wonder if they are gay instead of straight (or vice versa).
    via link

    In my past relationship with a girl, I was very concerned about her flaws and whatnot. All I know at this point is that being with a girl feels right, and with a man seems unlikely, although my obsession with them doesn't decrease.

    Who should I talk to about whether I have OCD or not? And anyone here who has knowledge of OCD (or has OCD) and can give me some insight? Thanks.
     
  2. SpaceSuit

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    If you are in college then a counselor at your school would be a good place to start. If you aren't then I would suggest talking to a therapist about it. OCD is something that you can learn to control with therapy and time so I would definitely give it a go. Also, there are some excellent resources you can find at your local library about OCD and ways to stop unwanted, intrusive thoughts. I can't think of any titles off the top of my head, but I'm sure your librarian can help you with that.
     
  3. shinji

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    "Obsessive–compulsive disorder - An anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear or worry (obsessions), repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety (compulsions), or a combination of such obsessions and compulsions."

    Yes i know you've already read this... but, just for reference purposes. Wikipedia does actually provide a lot of useful information on the matter, in fact, if you read the whole article you'll pretty much have an answer to your question.

    I open and close the settings panel on my phone, to check and see if i ticket that one checkbox... like at least 5-6 times, before i'm satisfied. What helps? Thinking about something else... Making something "complete", like... finishing a game with 100% completion, or straightening out your desk, and all the crap on it. Just, "obsess" over something else, that is less frustrating. The less you think about the "problem" the less it will frustrate you.

    As for the whole "kinky thoughts" part... I really can't get into the mindset, as why that would fall into "ocd category".
     
  4. cuppycake

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    Well, buddy. First thing's first, OCD is kind of a serious matter. It's not like going to a restaurant, picking food that suits your tastes and order it. Just because you have the symptoms doesn't mean you have OCD. There are a lot of other illnesses which have the same symptoms, plus you may not even have the illness in the first place - it could be just your body and brain trying to cope with stress, and that backfired into anxiety and stuff.

    I'm not really a psychiatrist, and while I do have that OCD thing everyone is freaking out about recently (especially on the internet, where every other person says he/she has it), I'm going to mention that my diagnose has been done by a psychiatrist, lots of tests and lots of talking about personal and painful elements of my life and my past.

    Shinji is right, at least partially. You can find most of what you need on the internet, but that's only the symptoms and people like you, who seek help to understand themselves better. As for real diagnosing and real treatment, you have to talk to a professional. Like I mentioned, a psychiatrist (in my case), or any other doctor who could guide you in the right direction. When I was in your situation a couple of years ago, I knew something was wrong with me, but I never knew what. So I began searching stuff on Google, trying to figure it out on my own. A huge mistake. I was absolutely positive I had ADHD or something similar, and that all the other shit was just part of me going through puberty or just being under stress. Then I visited my psychiatrist (for the second time, since I had to go once before, too), and guess what? She blew my mind. "I'm gonna make this quick and I'm gonna say it straight. You're suffering from bipolar affective disorder (type I) and obsessive-compulsive disorder."

    Yep. See? I thought I had one thing, but it turned out to be a whole other thing. So it could be the same with you, sir. You might feel you're strange and that something's not right with you, but you honestly can't say what it is until you get that checked from someone who knows what they're doing. Let's not play 'Name the disorder' game, because it's really nerve-wrecking and confusing to try and give yourself a diagnose, and just do anything you can (really, anything) to get help from either a therapist or a psychologist or a psychiatrist, or even a school counselor, like SpaceSuit mentioned. Trust me, even if you're 110% sure you know what's wrong with you, you won't be able to rest until you get a legitimate document from a doctor with a real diagnose, based on tests, long conversations, frequent trips to the said doctor's office and overall, a lot of work, and not just a couple of articles read on the internet.

    With that being said, I really, really hope you manage to sort it out by talking to someone who knows how to help you and give you a proper diagnose, and I hope everything goes well! ^o^
     
  5. Mangaholic

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    OCD does, often, include obsessions that are sexual. Search up more on HOCD and similar versions of OCD.

    While I am in no way a psychoanalyst, it might help you to really contemplate your sexual orientation. But really, you should consider chatting to an actual therapist, they can often provide a much greater insight into matters like this :slight_smile:
     
  6. TheStormInside

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    I don't have OCD, I have generalized anxiety disorder, but there's some overlap there and I have some OCD-like tendencies due to my anxiety. So my experiences may not align entirely with people with OCD, but I can relate to an extent.

    You don't go into specifics about what you're experiencing, but for OCD sufferers "obsession" doesn't mean the same thing it does when someone non-OCD or non-obsessive uses the word. Obsession means it's on your mind nearly constantly. It's taking over your thoughts, you can't concentrate on anything else because this one thought, which is often incredibly anxiety provoking, keeps surfacing and is much stronger and louder than the others. It gets in the way of functioning. You'll be sitting at work, and thinking about ___. You'll be trying to sleep, and thinking about ____. You might be out with friends, but thoughts of ____ make it hard to engage socially. If you are experiencing anything like that, then yes, I think you should see a therapist to talk about it. Even if you aren't experiencing obsessive thoughts to that degree, but if your worries about your sexuality are causing you a lot of distress it might still be good to see a professional to talk some of these things out. As cuppycake said you could have OCD but you could also be experiencing similar symptoms of an entirely different disorder. Or you could be an average joe just going through a rough time, and there's nothing wrong with seeking help for that, too.
     
  7. Jax12

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    Thanks for the responses everyone. Yeah I agree, talking to a therapist would help me out.