#orientation ocd

[openmindpsych]

believe it or not orientation OCD is not about being homophobic or biphobic or whatever it's about not being sure of your identity. you don't have to hate gay/bi people to be distressed by the idea of not knowing who you are and not being able to figure out such an important part of your life and identity. truly it's not about other people, it's about the fear of uncertainty, just like all OCD

[ocd-room]

Happy pride month!

And to any lgbtqia+ member with orientation or/and gender ocd — you are seen and loved. You deserve to celebrate too.

[vomitmanpukes]

Intrusive thoughts are so interesting because my brain will go “You’re not actually a lesbian. You don’t have a gential preference and you enjoy mlm media so you’re probably secretly attracted to men and denying it to yourself” then I see how people who are actually attracted to men act and realize that was a stupid thing to worry about.

[ocd-room]

It's okay to not know who you are. Take a deep breath. Uncertainty isn't the end of the world, even when it feels like it. You don't need to figure out everything.

[ocd-room]

Hey I really appreciate your post about pride month!! It feels like there’s so much pressure to “know” that stuff about yourself, from reasons spanning from putting that info in your profile to conversations about who oppresses who within communities. I wish I knew for certain!! Believe me, I don’t like living in this ambiguity either!! I feel like I’ve made some progress in learning to accept me for “me”, whatever that may look like, but this time of year is always weird for me. So thanks for shedding some light on OCD and gender and sexuality.

Of course! <3

[fullmusicbardsquared]

long shot, because I don't have ocd and whatever disorder I have is very mild so this is bigoted to even ask, but does anyone have advice for dealing with queer (yess all sorts) ocd?

[actuallyobsessive]

Regarding HOCD: It is not homophobia, nor is it necessarily homophobic of a therapist to suggest one has it. I prefer to call it orientation OCD, because it can happen no matter your orientation. It occurs when your dystonic intrusive thoughts undermine your sense of identity and the way you actually feel about things (can be connected to religious beliefs but I think that'd be categorized as scrupulosity). (1/2)

(2/2) For example, a gay person who feels comfortable identifying as gay but fears that they may actually be straight BECAUSE the label "straight" does not fit them, not (necessarily) because there is something wrong with being straight. Alternatively, they may fear that they're being appropriative, a lot like when one's afraid one isn't really obsessive-compulsive. The same is true for OCD related to one's gender identity. If anon likes, they are free to message me privately.

Thanks so much! Good info. 

-Mod C