Intrusive gay thoughts

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Why am I frightened of my sexuality changing?

It’s completely normal to question your sexuality—many people execute at some indicate in their lives. However, if you find yourself constantly obsessing over your sexuality, experiencing recurrent intrusive thoughts, and having intense anxiety, it could be a sign of a mental health condition. Excessive fears about your sexuality align with a common subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) known as sexual orientation OCD (SO-OCD).

SO-OCD is much distinct from genuinely exploring your sexuality and reflecting on who you are attracted to. With OCD, the brain seeks 100% certainty about who you’re attracted to—something that’s very unlikely to attain.

Keep reading to grasp more about how SO-OCD differs from healthy self-exploration and how to identify the right support.

What is sexual orientation OCD?

SO-OCD is a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder focused on concerns about your sexual orientation. OCD is characterized by a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are repeated, unwanted intrusive thoughts, sensations, images, or feelings, and compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts performed to neutralize the obsessio

'Homosexual OCD': Straight Men Who Suspect They Are Gay

Feb. 24, 2014 -- Steven Brodsky, a psychologist who specializes in obsessive-compulsive disorder, says that at any one time he has a "handful" of clients who are vertical and suspect that they are gay.

Brodsky, who is the clinical director of his OCD and Panic Center of N.Y. and N.J., said he had one adult patient who was so crippled by obsessive thoughts about being gay that he was unable to live independently and had to move back in with his parents to cope. Brodsky said he determined his patient had OCD associated with homosexuality.

"He had a classic case," said Brodsky. "He had some sort of feeling that he was attracted to other guys."

This patient was straight, according to Brodsky, but he had intrusive thoughts that were not based on any hard reality in his behavior.

Brodsky said a previous therapist had misdiagnosed his patient as gay, and at the patient's request, sent him off to reparative therapy, a controversial method that has not been proven to be effective and can be harmful.

"I have many gay clients and phobia is my business," he said. "I tr

My Fear of Being Gay

It started in sixth grade.

I used to flip through Limited Too catalogs, fixating on the pretty, female models and think, Do I have a admiration on these girls? Am I attracted to them? Horrified by myself, I’d shut the magazine and tuck my knees to my chest in an aim to comfort my acidic stomach.

I’m not gay, am I?

Religious expectations, coupled with my own outside stress, exacerbated this obsession with my sexuality (binge watching Will and Grace didn’t help either). I vividly remember my eleven-year-old self walking through a local park with my mom and mustering up the courage to broach the subject. Her resulting horror shut me down immediately. I didn’t know how to explain to her that this was a fear, and not a reality.

In high school, my fear of homosexuality reignited after my first partner dumped me. I feared having crushes on my female friends, my female teachers, or females connected with my ex. It drove me crazy and I felt compelled to tell my friends about my anxieties. Despite this urge, the only person I told was my mom. Her reaction was unchanged since our communicate years before. Still shocked, she advised me no