Feeling anxious about knowing your sexual orientation? Is it on your mind all the time? Do you have to do tests or research to figure it all out? If so, you may struggle with sexual orientation OCD. Let me show you how to use treatment strategies for it. I've outlined 3 steps that are researched based. Learn more by subscribing to my channel.

In any facet of existence, from cleanliness and germs to people's values and conceptions of right and wrong, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder may show up. In and about the relationships of individuals with others and their relationships with themselves, OCD can also occur, and it can include sexual orientation.

A distinct subtype of OCD that is marked by persistent obsessions with one's own sexual identity is homosexual OCD, or HOCD for short. Intrusive feelings, pictures, desires, or suspicions can contain certain obsessions, such as:

Fears that your thoughts about the opposite sex are either in denial or somehow suppressed;
If your sexual orientation is different from the one you associate with, think about compromising your reputation and' true self';
Concerns that you will "turn" gay or "turn" straight, and because of your sexual orientation, your marriages will be ruined;

Obsessions with your actions and how you have behaved or engaged in a "gay" or "straight" manner with others;
A hyper-awareness, particularly the groinal response, of physical reactions.​​

ERP is an evidence-based therapy that lets people find new ways to connect to their feelings and emotions. In order to get past them, it is a driven mechanism that allows individuals to confront their fears.

The aim of the solution prevention part of the process is to help people learn without judgement or any effort to alter, repair, interpret or analyze the existence of their intrusive ideas.

​Based on a person's personal perceptions, causes, obsessions, and compulsions, a psychiatrist may help develop customized exposures. These exposures can contain such situations as:

Looking at images of attractive men or women, while refusing, urges their bodily reactions to make sense.
Consciously being friendlier with their peers than normal while fighting concerns they could "hit" on them.

Have you ever hit a bump with your car and wondered what it was? Most people do, but when this happens it’s a question for a few seconds and then their brain moves on. What is every bump you hit he wondered if it was a person. Every noise you heard me do you wonder if you had somebody. Maybe your brains even telling you that you want to hit somebody on purpose. You obsessively check your mirrors to make sure the pedestrian wasn’t hit. It’s possible you go back to make sure that you didn’t hit somebody. You feel a lot of anxiety and stress about this. You do not feel comfort until you get a verification that you didn’t actually hit someone. If this sounds like you, you might struggle with OCD. More specifically hit and run OCD. Some put this in the category of harm OCD.
 
Let’s go through how someone may experience hit and run OCD and what the treatment looks like.

• Only driving with the people in the car. These passengers can verify to the driver if they actually had somebody or not. Because the passenger will definitely say something right.
• Individuals may entirely avoid driving altogether. They may avoid certain areas such as schools, roads with bike lanes, anywhere there are potholes, and playgrounds. If they can completely avoid these areas they don’t have to worry about accidentally hitting somebody.
• Often individuals will reassure themselves not to say certain words or a statement such as no one was hit, nothing bad is going to happen, it was just a pothole, you would know if you actually had somebody. The problem with this is that they can tell us of this but the brain will immediately start doubting again.
• Individuals will start seeking reassurance from others. Ask their spouse, ask their parents, as their friends. Do you think I should go back? Do you think I would know if I actually had somebody? Do you feel like I should follow my feelings if I had somebody or not? They want the other individuals to tell them that they are fine Internet go back. But this often is not enough and causes them to go back anyway.
• Often individuals will not even listen to the radio. I want  to make sure they hear every single sound such as the screeching tires, or even the sound of somebody getting hurt. They may be completely hyper focused on the sounds.
• The rearview mirror as well as the side mirrors become your best friend. Let me obsessively look at these to make sure they didn’t hit somebody. They could even be looking for other cars that my signal to them that something happened.
• Probably the biggest compulsion is actually returning to the scene. They may go around in circles and check the spots very clearly to make sure nobody was there or that they didn’t see any blood.
• They may look for news reports to see if they said anything about someone getting hit by a car.

Nothing is like the real deal! We all know that. But, research has shown that we can use exposure and response prevention for the fear of needles. Here are some exposures that individuals may do. The point isn't to remove the anxiety, it's to teach your brain something new about the fear. That you're the boss and you can do hard things. ​

Many who have OCD struggle with the fear of staring at someone’s private areas. Some may just feel annoyed and distressed because they actually are doing it. Whether it’s in a TV show or in person. They start avoiding places because they don’t want to have to take the time and effort to avoid staring or looking. It’s not something they want to do, so of course, the brain is going to urge them to do it or throw out threats. Let’s go through what it looks like and how to stop staring. ​

Existential OCD involves intrusive, repetitive thinking about questions that cannot possibly be answered. Individuals will think about really any question. Most don’t have answers, but they feel the need or urge to find the answer right then and there. Often feeling anxious until they do. Let’s go through the treatment for existential OCD and what it looks like to those experiencing it. ​

It is also difficult to identify existential obsessions, as they can seem like the questions many of us think about often and then carry on with a shrug of the shoulders. Existential obsessions can also be confused with the kind of thoughts encountered by people while they are depressed, constantly going through pessimistic thoughts about how pointless life can seem. And, existential OCD is much more difficult than that.

Typically people with existential obsessions spend hours going over and over these questions and thoughts, and can become highly anxious and depressed. They may be seen as suffering from concerns or existential fears as they seek help, or they may be misdiagnosed as suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Existential OCD is most likely, however when a person fights ongoing distracting, repeated, constant, anxiety-producing, doubtful thoughts of this nature.

In the general population and the media, many individuals have a somewhat stereotypical view of what OCD is all about. Individuals with OCD are seen as individuals who either wash their hands too much or are super-organized and perfectionist. It can be difficult, therefore to identify the forms of OCD that do not resemble these typical stereotypes. The truth is there are a lot of forms that OCD can take. 

Even if you don't have existential OCD, at one point in time, you could have had existential obsessions, spending hours contemplating why you have your particular thoughts and wondering precisely what these thoughts might mean. This is yet another form of intimidation that follows obsessive thoughts, and never leads to any real responses. Your obsessive suspicions can not be argued, reasoned, examined, or challenged while you have OCD. This is particularly the case for Existential OCD.

Existential OCD includes distracting, persistent thinking about questions that may not be answered and that in nature, may be metaphysical or scary, or both. The questions generally revolve around life's meaning, intent, or fact, or the nature of the universe or even the existence of one's own. In a university philosophy or physics class, these same questions could come up. Most individuals, however may quit such classes or read about these subjects and move on to other thoughts.

The aim is not to escape or stop the "response prevention" aspect of ERP, so you are taught to comply with your existential thoughts and not try to evaluate, challenge, or disagree with them. You are also discouraged, as this is another way of escape, from finding reassurance from others or even yourself. Sadly, avoidance may become a learned habit that becomes very automatic over time. Unconsciously, without even thinking about it you can avoid your triggers.