A common intrusive thought is a doubt whether you are homosexual, it is of course perfectly normal to have such doubts, but again the thought needs to be seen in the context of your OCD. You may be horrified of being gay, so that the reason you have such worries or doubts is because you fear being gay and believe it would be devastating for you.
You may then try too hard to banish such thoughts or ideas, or try to prove to yourself that you are not gay - for example, by visiting a prostitute or seeing if you can still get aroused with the opposite sex. Sometimes this backfires, because anxiety can interfere with normal sexual functioning, and this is likely to reinforce your fears that you may be gay.
You may then try too hard to banish such thoughts or ideas, or try to prove to yourself that you are not gay - for example, by visiting a prostitute or seeing if you can still get aroused with the opposite sex. Sometimes this backfires, because anxiety can interfere with normal sexual functioning, and this is likely to reinforce your fears that you may be gay.
It is very normal to have intrusive thoughts and worries about being homosexual, especially as an adolescent when you are beginning to develop your sexual identity and feelings. However, someone without OCD will treat such thoughts as just as an idea, they might experiment, or they might accept that sexuality is not black and white. Just like any other intrusive thought and don't respond to it. Prove to yourself that it's just a thought by going to gay bars and being in the company of gay friends, and don't try to prove that you are heterosexual.
A similar situation occurs when someone with OCD becomes highly anxious about abusing a child. They may focus attention on their genitals to 'assess' their response to children or intrusive thoughts. They may notice sensations that are normally there and misinterpret them as signs of sexual arousal; they may notice arousal responses that are a consequence of anxiety, and misinterpret these as a sign of desire.
Again, the more you gain confidense in these explanations of what is happening, by trying them out in reality, the sooner your obsession will subside.
We should emphasize over and over again that having intrusive sexual thoughts towards children is perfectly normal. They pass through the minds of many people without OCD but no one pays much attention to them: they are irrelevant, just thoughts. Someone with OCD, by contrast, treats such thoughts as dangerous and starts to notice reflex sensations in their genitals as a sign they are aroused, and so the vicious circle of avoidance and mental rituals.
Again, the more you gain confidense in these explanations of what is happening, by trying them out in reality, the sooner your obsession will subside.
We should emphasize over and over again that having intrusive sexual thoughts towards children is perfectly normal. They pass through the minds of many people without OCD but no one pays much attention to them: they are irrelevant, just thoughts. Someone with OCD, by contrast, treats such thoughts as dangerous and starts to notice reflex sensations in their genitals as a sign they are aroused, and so the vicious circle of avoidance and mental rituals.
http://www.toolsforocd.com/