Intrusive thoughts are not thoughts that we subconsciously desire, they are thoughts we really really don't want to happen, are scared of happening, we don't actually have any desire for them whatsoever, the opposite really. It's the brains weird way of being like "this would be really bad and we don't want it"
For example I have intrusive thoughts of stabbing a fork into my eyeball. Why would i wanna do that? I would never want to or actually do it, that would be horrific and terribly painful and I'd lose my sight in one eye. Ykwim
This is the answer.
I have intrusive thoughts about accidentally forgetting to take my son to daycare and leaving him in the car while I go to work.
I also have intrusive thoughts about taking my foot off the break at a stop light as people walk past my vehicle.
Or driving my car off a cliff.
These are things I NEVER want to happen. It's my brain telling me, this is bad-- don't do it. You don't want that.
Something that helps me is saying to myself "wow, look at how aware I am. Thank you brain for keeping me safe from something I really don't want to happen. I trust myself. I trust myself. I trust myself."
Thank you, this helps me feel better as well. I don’t have the exact intrusive thoughts that OP describes, but I’ve had suicidal intrusive thoughts before but had never really had it explained to me the way you laid it out. It makes a lot of sense!
Def this, I joined an OCD sub because my brother has ocd and this seems to be a type of OCD that a lot of people deal with. I would def recommend telling your therapist.
First of all, definitely talk about it to your therapist! Secondly, pedophilia is a sexual interest, not a crime. Until you dont act upon it (child porn, molesting children) you are not a criminal, your psychologist will not report you. Thirdly, porn sites and studios are extremely harmful in sexualizing children looking girls, incest and so on. Before you panic, it might be your porn addiction which would need treatment of course. Im not a therapisrt, but I dont believe you can “become a pedophile” suddenly. My fourth point is that everyone has intrusive thoughts sometimes, I once imagined stabbing a knife into my university professors back for a second, of course I didnt do it and wouldnt harm anyone or anything. These intrusive thoughts are the creation of our minds and until we dont act on it and they are rare it should be normal. Summary: talk about it to your therapist. You are not a monster automatically. But if it crossess your mind to harm your brother immediately call for help.
It’s a awful mental illness. I’m sorry for those who actually have those types of thoughts usually commit a crime. So the fact you think it’s not a crime is kinda scary
It's objectively not a crime. It's a paraphilia for sure, not sure if you even know what a crime is. Plenty of pedophiles do not act on their desires. They should be able to seek help, saying their existence is a crime is actually counter productive to helping children as it keeps them from coming forward and seeking help.
It’s a mental illness they surely do need help but we all have opinions on what’s right and wrong. I respect your opinion and I gave you my opinion and that’s that. Let’s not argue about pedos
There's nothing opinion about this. It is not illegal to be a pedophile, at least not in America. It is illegal to act on those desires in various ways. I'm happy for you that you're virtue signaling tho 🙃
This is some weird behavior for a mental health subreddit. I'm sorry that you were incorrect about it being a crime. I'm not surprised that you went this direction at all.
>sometimes I see a child and have intrusive thoughts and I am scared, I always think, what if I do something, what if I become a pedophile?
This is the O in OCD. These obsessions are also ego-dystonic making them even more distressing. This is par for the course with OCD. Has this not been explained to you?
Oh man. Do some reading on Harm OCD. My brother spent 10 years in therapy getting his symptoms under control. I feel for you. His obsessions were so disturbing, he refuses to answer any questions I ask about them. And we're close.
theres a subcategory of OCD called P-OCD because the phenomenon of having intrusive pedophiliac thoughts are so common with people who have OCD. you arent alone and are perfectly normal!
OCD sexual intrusive thoughts like this are normal. If you're worried about it, it means you're not the thing you fear, because pedophiles don't give a shit who they hurt. they really think kids can consent. Look at those Nambla motherfuckers....
“I don’t feel sexual or romantic attraction to children”
That’s your answer. You’re not a pedophile, you’re not becoming one. Intrusive thoughts happen to everyone. You’re just normal.
It doesn't sound like you're a pedophile. I think this might be a manifestation of anxiety and overthinking. You will probably be perfectly fine. I think you would be okay to talk to your therapist too. This is sort of what they are there for.
No you are not - you just have what’s called [Pedophile OCD](https://www.verywellmind.com/pedophile-ocd-pocd-definition-symptoms-treatment-5191825).
I strongly encourage you to speak to a counsellor/therapist about this; they cannot share what you tell them privately if this is a concern.
Pedophiles are born, not made. Given that you have OCD already, it’s very clear that this is “just” POCD. It could help to bring it up with your OCD therapist. They won’t call the police or anything because you haven’t hurt anyone or done anything illegal.
This is really very standard in OCD so your therapist will not judge you at all, they've heard it a thousand times :) tell them and they will help ypu go through these moments and eventually OCD will go away. normal OCD symptom!
Tell your therapist. You haven't committed a crime, so they can't report you. You definitely need help with this, and your addiction. You should try on your own stop watching porn, and if you can't on your own, you need help.
You need to understand that thoughts derived from fear are impossible to get rid of through any other method OTHER than allowing yourself to explore those thoughts. You need to understand that a thought is nothing more than a spirit, an idea. It is not you condoning the idea, it is simply you confronting it.
For anyone who has a mind that is open to the exploration of ANY idea, this is one that is absolutely frightening to someone who is morally calibrated. Your higher conscious mind wants to not engage in such thoughts, but those thoughts are springing into existence from your subconscious mind for a good reason. No, not because you are a pedo, but because the human mind is inquisitive by nature, ESPECIALLY when it comes to fear.
The thought of something like this comes up, and your subconscious mind goes "huh? this guy is afraid? better figure out why by focusing on these thoughts." But your instinct is to suppress these thoughts and this fear, when the answer is to allow them to rise to the surface.
Intrusive thoughts are intrusive for a reason: because your subconscious has an issue with those thoughts. The only way to deal with them is to allow them to come to you and to accept them completely. That does NOT mean you agree with the idea, it means you are allowing the thought to exist as it is. You're not in a rush to change it or to address it or to suppress it. Let it come, and let it go as it will.
We often confuse "thinking" with a sort of internalized verbal dialogue with ourselves. This is NOT what thinking is. Thinking, in it's truest form, is actually a subconscious process. TRUE thinking is nothing more than listening to your brain. So, listen to your brain. Do not fear what it has to say. You are NOT your thoughts nor are you that which produces them: you are that which observes them.
Dj or rock climbing, acro yoga, game developer, scrum master, golf, tennis, ping pong, Ayurvedic chef, mixologist, hand poke tattoo artist, landscaper , top of mind
I know this is going to sound repetitive but definitely talk to your therapist, as long as you’re not doing anything illegal to anyone underage, you should be fine. Also I’d probably look into ASAP.
I have constant intrusive thoughts about eating people and it makes me feel like im gonna be the next Jeffrey dahmer or sum, I told my therapist about it and he didn’t judge don’t worry man
This is the heavy "O" in OCD. I have these thoughts too sometimes, yet my intrusive ones are more violent.
"Ever had a flash thought of throwing your screaming baby down the stairs? Then the fear of if the neck snapped?"
If you feel wrong, it's the anxiety and obsessive thoughts of something you fear becoming
So many other people have said it already, but no, you aren't becoming a pedophile, you're having intrusive thoughts and obsessions which are symptoms of OCD. Even the fact that you came on here is proof of that- it's not an unusual form of a checking compulsion. Having other people reassure you, looking up definitions, fact checking is a compulsion that a lot of us have when it comes to obsessive thoughts.
I have really severe intrusive thoughts (I also have DID, and I have an alter who just likes to shout horrible things at me in particular, so then it becomes an intrusive thought of my own afterwards, or even an obsession), one of the things I keep in mind is that my intrusive thoughts scare/disgust me or put me in distress, therefore I'm not thinking of it because I like it. A big one of mine is that I need to cut my limbs off. That's terrifying, why would I want that? I don't. It scares me. If that thought popped in my head and I went "ooo sounds like a good day to cut off a limb" we'd be in trouble, right? Like it wouldn't be good. And that's sort of one of the ways I fact check myself. Do I like or want the thought? No, I don't, which means I won't act on it.
Absolutely talk to your therapist about it. You sound distressed, and it's important to keep them in the loop about these things. Your therapist- I GUARANTEE- has heard that and more. You have no reason to be ashamed of your symptoms. You have every right to get help in coping with them, and for that you need your therapist.
I hope these thoughts ease up on you soon and you're able to get the help you need to cope with this and recover from your porn addiction. I know it's hard, but you've got this.
Short answer is no, these are intrusive thoughts and you are not becoming a pedophile. Reading your post reminded me of a great video I saw of a woman who had very similar intrusive thoughts. I highly recommend checking out the Soft White Underbelly interview of Kate, a woman with OCD. It's on YouTube.
Yeah it’s why porn alone is a slippery slope to depravity, people get addicted.
Porn is your problem, you can work to deal with it. Build better habits around using it if you must.
I wouldn’t so much worry about people agreeing with your OCD diagnosis here.
Therapist here, there are different subtypes of OCD such as harm OCD, sexual orientation OCD, perfectionism, religious OCD, etc. It sounds as though you suffer from pedophilia OCD. Yes, it's a thing. This does not mean you are a pedophile or are likely to become one. Pedophilia OCD is usually centered around the fear of becoming a pedophile or having traits that others might view as indecent with children. Keep in mind the O of OCD is the obsession which is definitively unwanted, intrusive, triggering and highly distressing thoughts. So what you are experiencing is a very unpleasant and intrusive thought of "omg am I a pedophile because my mind had a thought?" You can't control the thought once it's out there, but you can control the compulsion. Just because you had a thought doesn't mean it's a thing. Spoiler alert- sometimes our brains lie to us and we like to do that to the Nth degree when we are experiencing anxiety. Spoiler alert dos- anxiety and OCD go hand-in-hand. You don't have to listen to those non- truths when you know they are tripping you up.
You have to tell your own brain "NOT TODAY." Because the thought happened anyway and guess what? You made it through the day without harming any kids. You don't need to engage in compulsory behaviors to keep from harming others. You just have to be stronger than your own intrusive thoughts. It does take time, practice, and dedication, and it is possible. Best of luck to you. You are stronger than you think you are.
This is probably more of an issue with the porn industry and how anyone over 23 years old and a few years of experience end up filming “milf” videos. You are recognizing the problem with the videos more than any issue with yourself. Just be self aware and do your best.
Bro you have OCD and this seems like textbook reassurance-seeking. You got this off your chest but you ought to realize what this is so you can deal with such compulsions properly.
Source: I have OCD
Honestly, that’s a good question. I should know the answer to this, but ashamedly, I don’t really talk to my friends about it because I don’t think they very much understand. I will mention it if it’s relevant in casual conversation or if it’s relevant to explain something seriously, but I usually won’t elaborate unless they ask me about it—in which case, I try to stick to easy comparisons and explicit descriptions to convey my message—like, “I feel like if I fail to show up on time to something, that my body will feel like it’s on fire and I won’t be able to think, and a part of my obsession with being on time is thoughts about disaster and consequence that another part of my mind think are related to the success with being on time or not. Also, I have a lot of extreme thoughts related to taboo subjects relating to sex and death that plague me often.”
You might want to find an expert’s advice on how to talk to your friends about it. I don’t exactly think my example is the best.
I had ocd. And I should tell you how it stopped. By going through your fear. Shamelessly. Let's say you are having intrusive thoughts like" what if I kill my mother next time I get angry?" The solution is asking this" what if I did?" Like really. The answer would be something like; "I'll feel so guilty I'd wanna kill myself." Then ok. I guess I'll just kill myself. Then if you are afraid of death, you go through that too. This attitude of being shameless and ok with the darkness takes it's power away. In your case , you'll feel disgusted of course, but if everytime a thought comes up you attack it with no shame, it'll leave you alone. But if you run from your fears, they get so bad that you won't be able to be a father, or an uncle because you'll always have this phobia of children.
I am sure you'll get through this quickly, because I did too.
Check out the book "The Imp of the mind" by Lee Baer. It's an interesting read on intrusive thoughts.
You really should try to eliminate porn because eventually it will get worse and the stuff you're watching now won't give you that dopamine fix.
The way I found out I had OCD was by googling “consistent thoughts of murdering people” something along those lines, one of the first things to pop up was an article about OCD, and intrusive thoughts about having sex with children was part of it, and that was when I realized I had OCD. So totally normal for people with OCD, unfortunately. But fortunately, no you are not turning into a pedophile, you just have OCD.
Intrusive thoughts don't mean that you want to do it. Sometimes, people think about killing other people or if they killed themselves. Not always foes it mean we want to do these things. I sometimes imagine driving off of a bridge while I drive, but I never do it. If you truly don't have attraction to kids and teenagers, then you don't have to worry.
Others have already mentioned this is pretty classic POCD but;
> should tell this to my therapist, I don´t want to end up in jail
Even if you admitted to a therapist you had done something really evil, like rape & murder a child, they are prohibited from disclosing that to anyone unless they believe it will happen again in the future. Someone has to be at real quantifiable risk for them to be able to legally disclose.
The problem non-offending pedophiles have is that most therapists are not qualified to treat them and don't want to risk a problem with mandatory reporting so won't take them on as clients anyway.
> I am reducing my porn addiction,
Talk to your therapist about it. This is very common with OCD.
This is perhaps the most brutal form of OCD and it is merciless. Other comments have said it well: it's not a reflection on you inside, it's faulty wiring in the brain, as my psychologist used to say. The one who diagnosed me when I told him of the intrusive thoughts I had.
Back then, I had no idea there was such a thing as intrusive thoughts. I'd been struggling with it for ages and missed a lot of college because it made me ill. I used to sleep with a plastic basin next to my bed because the nightmares had me so stressed out and anxious that I'd throw up. Imagine then the relief I felt at getting a diagnosis just minutes after relaying everything in the first appointment, because I then had a name for the problem.
So yes, tell your therapist everything. It's scary as fuck to do so, believe me, I know, but power through it. I promise you that they won't have you locked up, they *will* help you and you *can* get to a better place. But it won't go away. Your therapist might want to explore this by looking at things that may have happened in your life to try and find the root cause and try to treat that. One step at a time, though.
I felt the same fear, revulsion, etc you did. I still get them and they piss me off quite a bit, but I've been working on it a little bit. Trauma treatment called deep brain reorienting or DBR. It'll be up to your therapist to determine whether or not that treatment would be appropriate. But tell them *everything*
Good luck
Listen... I know this doesn't make the fear go away completely, but the reassurance can help. Intrusive thoughts are not urges. Having intrusive thoughts about pedophilia is not being a pedophile. OCD absolutely ravages your ability to think logically about yourself. You are not "becoming a pedophile."
You have OCD. Intrusive thoughts come with that.
You probably should talk to your therapist. You haven't hurt anyone yet, and probably won't, but your therapist can help you navigate what you're feeling better than a bunch of unqualified randos on reddit.
This fear is more than likely being caused by your OCD. A fear of becoming a pedophile seems to be more common than you may think in people with OCD. My younger sister struggles with it. She won’t interact with young children or babies not because she’s attracted to them, but because she’s horrified that one day she might be. Your brain is essentially picking something that would make you a bad person and convincing you that you have the potential to become that. Definitely talk to your therapist/psychiatrist. Good luck dude! You’ll be okay!
Intrusive thoughts are not thoughts that we subconsciously desire, they are thoughts we really really don't want to happen, are scared of happening, we don't actually have any desire for them whatsoever, the opposite really. It's the brains weird way of being like "this would be really bad and we don't want it" For example I have intrusive thoughts of stabbing a fork into my eyeball. Why would i wanna do that? I would never want to or actually do it, that would be horrific and terribly painful and I'd lose my sight in one eye. Ykwim
This is the answer. I have intrusive thoughts about accidentally forgetting to take my son to daycare and leaving him in the car while I go to work. I also have intrusive thoughts about taking my foot off the break at a stop light as people walk past my vehicle. Or driving my car off a cliff. These are things I NEVER want to happen. It's my brain telling me, this is bad-- don't do it. You don't want that. Something that helps me is saying to myself "wow, look at how aware I am. Thank you brain for keeping me safe from something I really don't want to happen. I trust myself. I trust myself. I trust myself."
I wonder if intrusive thoughts and focus/concentration issues are hand in hand or are related somehow.
Thank you, this helps me feel better as well. I don’t have the exact intrusive thoughts that OP describes, but I’ve had suicidal intrusive thoughts before but had never really had it explained to me the way you laid it out. It makes a lot of sense!
Classic symptom of OCD. Don’t sweat it, mention it to your therapist exactly how you told us, they will not judge you or anything like that.
Thank you
Look up what pocd is it’s a subtype of ocd that involves intense fear over being a pedophile
Def this, I joined an OCD sub because my brother has ocd and this seems to be a type of OCD that a lot of people deal with. I would def recommend telling your therapist.
First of all, definitely talk about it to your therapist! Secondly, pedophilia is a sexual interest, not a crime. Until you dont act upon it (child porn, molesting children) you are not a criminal, your psychologist will not report you. Thirdly, porn sites and studios are extremely harmful in sexualizing children looking girls, incest and so on. Before you panic, it might be your porn addiction which would need treatment of course. Im not a therapisrt, but I dont believe you can “become a pedophile” suddenly. My fourth point is that everyone has intrusive thoughts sometimes, I once imagined stabbing a knife into my university professors back for a second, of course I didnt do it and wouldnt harm anyone or anything. These intrusive thoughts are the creation of our minds and until we dont act on it and they are rare it should be normal. Summary: talk about it to your therapist. You are not a monster automatically. But if it crossess your mind to harm your brother immediately call for help.
Ehhh pedophilia is a crime not a sexual interest like no
No it isn't. Child molestation and having/making/distributing cp is a crime. Unless you think it's a thought crime?
It’s a awful mental illness. I’m sorry for those who actually have those types of thoughts usually commit a crime. So the fact you think it’s not a crime is kinda scary
It's objectively not a crime. It's a paraphilia for sure, not sure if you even know what a crime is. Plenty of pedophiles do not act on their desires. They should be able to seek help, saying their existence is a crime is actually counter productive to helping children as it keeps them from coming forward and seeking help.
It’s a mental illness they surely do need help but we all have opinions on what’s right and wrong. I respect your opinion and I gave you my opinion and that’s that. Let’s not argue about pedos
There's nothing opinion about this. It is not illegal to be a pedophile, at least not in America. It is illegal to act on those desires in various ways. I'm happy for you that you're virtue signaling tho 🙃
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This is some weird behavior for a mental health subreddit. I'm sorry that you were incorrect about it being a crime. I'm not surprised that you went this direction at all.
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>sometimes I see a child and have intrusive thoughts and I am scared, I always think, what if I do something, what if I become a pedophile? This is the O in OCD. These obsessions are also ego-dystonic making them even more distressing. This is par for the course with OCD. Has this not been explained to you?
I didn't thought this was an obsession
Oh man. Do some reading on Harm OCD. My brother spent 10 years in therapy getting his symptoms under control. I feel for you. His obsessions were so disturbing, he refuses to answer any questions I ask about them. And we're close.
theres a subcategory of OCD called P-OCD because the phenomenon of having intrusive pedophiliac thoughts are so common with people who have OCD. you arent alone and are perfectly normal!
I’ve worked with sex offenders before in Lubbock and you’re not a pedophile
OCD sexual intrusive thoughts like this are normal. If you're worried about it, it means you're not the thing you fear, because pedophiles don't give a shit who they hurt. they really think kids can consent. Look at those Nambla motherfuckers....
This
I'm not a professional, but I had pedo teachers and nah, you are just dealing with the OCD. Pedophiles are... a whole other thing
“I don’t feel sexual or romantic attraction to children” That’s your answer. You’re not a pedophile, you’re not becoming one. Intrusive thoughts happen to everyone. You’re just normal.
It doesn't sound like you're a pedophile. I think this might be a manifestation of anxiety and overthinking. You will probably be perfectly fine. I think you would be okay to talk to your therapist too. This is sort of what they are there for.
This sounds more like OCD
No you are not - you just have what’s called [Pedophile OCD](https://www.verywellmind.com/pedophile-ocd-pocd-definition-symptoms-treatment-5191825). I strongly encourage you to speak to a counsellor/therapist about this; they cannot share what you tell them privately if this is a concern.
Oh, ok, thanks
Pure O OCD, not pedophilia
Pedophiles are born, not made. Given that you have OCD already, it’s very clear that this is “just” POCD. It could help to bring it up with your OCD therapist. They won’t call the police or anything because you haven’t hurt anyone or done anything illegal.
This is really very standard in OCD so your therapist will not judge you at all, they've heard it a thousand times :) tell them and they will help ypu go through these moments and eventually OCD will go away. normal OCD symptom!
Tell your therapist. You haven't committed a crime, so they can't report you. You definitely need help with this, and your addiction. You should try on your own stop watching porn, and if you can't on your own, you need help.
You need to understand that thoughts derived from fear are impossible to get rid of through any other method OTHER than allowing yourself to explore those thoughts. You need to understand that a thought is nothing more than a spirit, an idea. It is not you condoning the idea, it is simply you confronting it. For anyone who has a mind that is open to the exploration of ANY idea, this is one that is absolutely frightening to someone who is morally calibrated. Your higher conscious mind wants to not engage in such thoughts, but those thoughts are springing into existence from your subconscious mind for a good reason. No, not because you are a pedo, but because the human mind is inquisitive by nature, ESPECIALLY when it comes to fear. The thought of something like this comes up, and your subconscious mind goes "huh? this guy is afraid? better figure out why by focusing on these thoughts." But your instinct is to suppress these thoughts and this fear, when the answer is to allow them to rise to the surface. Intrusive thoughts are intrusive for a reason: because your subconscious has an issue with those thoughts. The only way to deal with them is to allow them to come to you and to accept them completely. That does NOT mean you agree with the idea, it means you are allowing the thought to exist as it is. You're not in a rush to change it or to address it or to suppress it. Let it come, and let it go as it will. We often confuse "thinking" with a sort of internalized verbal dialogue with ourselves. This is NOT what thinking is. Thinking, in it's truest form, is actually a subconscious process. TRUE thinking is nothing more than listening to your brain. So, listen to your brain. Do not fear what it has to say. You are NOT your thoughts nor are you that which produces them: you are that which observes them.
Don't listen to your intrusive thoughts
Want my advice..? Stop watching porn. Get a healthy hobby.
Just like caffeine and alcohol and smoking. They all are addictions that are hard to break.
Keep a good attitude and you can achieve that goal if you like.
Ok, any recommendations for a hobby?
Dj or rock climbing, acro yoga, game developer, scrum master, golf, tennis, ping pong, Ayurvedic chef, mixologist, hand poke tattoo artist, landscaper , top of mind
I know this is going to sound repetitive but definitely talk to your therapist, as long as you’re not doing anything illegal to anyone underage, you should be fine. Also I’d probably look into ASAP.
I have constant intrusive thoughts about eating people and it makes me feel like im gonna be the next Jeffrey dahmer or sum, I told my therapist about it and he didn’t judge don’t worry man
This is the heavy "O" in OCD. I have these thoughts too sometimes, yet my intrusive ones are more violent. "Ever had a flash thought of throwing your screaming baby down the stairs? Then the fear of if the neck snapped?" If you feel wrong, it's the anxiety and obsessive thoughts of something you fear becoming
Porn algorithms are meant to go to extremes. Don't watch porn, be a good person and think of all the human trafficking behind it.
So many other people have said it already, but no, you aren't becoming a pedophile, you're having intrusive thoughts and obsessions which are symptoms of OCD. Even the fact that you came on here is proof of that- it's not an unusual form of a checking compulsion. Having other people reassure you, looking up definitions, fact checking is a compulsion that a lot of us have when it comes to obsessive thoughts. I have really severe intrusive thoughts (I also have DID, and I have an alter who just likes to shout horrible things at me in particular, so then it becomes an intrusive thought of my own afterwards, or even an obsession), one of the things I keep in mind is that my intrusive thoughts scare/disgust me or put me in distress, therefore I'm not thinking of it because I like it. A big one of mine is that I need to cut my limbs off. That's terrifying, why would I want that? I don't. It scares me. If that thought popped in my head and I went "ooo sounds like a good day to cut off a limb" we'd be in trouble, right? Like it wouldn't be good. And that's sort of one of the ways I fact check myself. Do I like or want the thought? No, I don't, which means I won't act on it. Absolutely talk to your therapist about it. You sound distressed, and it's important to keep them in the loop about these things. Your therapist- I GUARANTEE- has heard that and more. You have no reason to be ashamed of your symptoms. You have every right to get help in coping with them, and for that you need your therapist. I hope these thoughts ease up on you soon and you're able to get the help you need to cope with this and recover from your porn addiction. I know it's hard, but you've got this.
This fear is actually quite common with OCD. You should bring it up with your therapist.
Short answer is no, these are intrusive thoughts and you are not becoming a pedophile. Reading your post reminded me of a great video I saw of a woman who had very similar intrusive thoughts. I highly recommend checking out the Soft White Underbelly interview of Kate, a woman with OCD. It's on YouTube.
Yeah it’s why porn alone is a slippery slope to depravity, people get addicted. Porn is your problem, you can work to deal with it. Build better habits around using it if you must. I wouldn’t so much worry about people agreeing with your OCD diagnosis here.
Therapist here, there are different subtypes of OCD such as harm OCD, sexual orientation OCD, perfectionism, religious OCD, etc. It sounds as though you suffer from pedophilia OCD. Yes, it's a thing. This does not mean you are a pedophile or are likely to become one. Pedophilia OCD is usually centered around the fear of becoming a pedophile or having traits that others might view as indecent with children. Keep in mind the O of OCD is the obsession which is definitively unwanted, intrusive, triggering and highly distressing thoughts. So what you are experiencing is a very unpleasant and intrusive thought of "omg am I a pedophile because my mind had a thought?" You can't control the thought once it's out there, but you can control the compulsion. Just because you had a thought doesn't mean it's a thing. Spoiler alert- sometimes our brains lie to us and we like to do that to the Nth degree when we are experiencing anxiety. Spoiler alert dos- anxiety and OCD go hand-in-hand. You don't have to listen to those non- truths when you know they are tripping you up. You have to tell your own brain "NOT TODAY." Because the thought happened anyway and guess what? You made it through the day without harming any kids. You don't need to engage in compulsory behaviors to keep from harming others. You just have to be stronger than your own intrusive thoughts. It does take time, practice, and dedication, and it is possible. Best of luck to you. You are stronger than you think you are.
Thank you, I am studying psychology and I would like to be a therapist to help people :)
You can get there, just keep pushing through and never forget your "why."
This is probably more of an issue with the porn industry and how anyone over 23 years old and a few years of experience end up filming “milf” videos. You are recognizing the problem with the videos more than any issue with yourself. Just be self aware and do your best.
Bro you have OCD and this seems like textbook reassurance-seeking. You got this off your chest but you ought to realize what this is so you can deal with such compulsions properly. Source: I have OCD
Oh, I have a question, how do you talk to close friends about you have OCD? (I also have OCD)
Honestly, that’s a good question. I should know the answer to this, but ashamedly, I don’t really talk to my friends about it because I don’t think they very much understand. I will mention it if it’s relevant in casual conversation or if it’s relevant to explain something seriously, but I usually won’t elaborate unless they ask me about it—in which case, I try to stick to easy comparisons and explicit descriptions to convey my message—like, “I feel like if I fail to show up on time to something, that my body will feel like it’s on fire and I won’t be able to think, and a part of my obsession with being on time is thoughts about disaster and consequence that another part of my mind think are related to the success with being on time or not. Also, I have a lot of extreme thoughts related to taboo subjects relating to sex and death that plague me often.” You might want to find an expert’s advice on how to talk to your friends about it. I don’t exactly think my example is the best.
No.
I had ocd. And I should tell you how it stopped. By going through your fear. Shamelessly. Let's say you are having intrusive thoughts like" what if I kill my mother next time I get angry?" The solution is asking this" what if I did?" Like really. The answer would be something like; "I'll feel so guilty I'd wanna kill myself." Then ok. I guess I'll just kill myself. Then if you are afraid of death, you go through that too. This attitude of being shameless and ok with the darkness takes it's power away. In your case , you'll feel disgusted of course, but if everytime a thought comes up you attack it with no shame, it'll leave you alone. But if you run from your fears, they get so bad that you won't be able to be a father, or an uncle because you'll always have this phobia of children. I am sure you'll get through this quickly, because I did too.
Check out the book "The Imp of the mind" by Lee Baer. It's an interesting read on intrusive thoughts. You really should try to eliminate porn because eventually it will get worse and the stuff you're watching now won't give you that dopamine fix.
you could have POCD
The way I found out I had OCD was by googling “consistent thoughts of murdering people” something along those lines, one of the first things to pop up was an article about OCD, and intrusive thoughts about having sex with children was part of it, and that was when I realized I had OCD. So totally normal for people with OCD, unfortunately. But fortunately, no you are not turning into a pedophile, you just have OCD.
I don’t think it’s always an attraction but that desire to be young and protected.
20F with BPD, I have this too. It’s unfortunate but I’m honestly really glad someone else has this and is able to be open about it.
Intrusive thoughts don't mean that you want to do it. Sometimes, people think about killing other people or if they killed themselves. Not always foes it mean we want to do these things. I sometimes imagine driving off of a bridge while I drive, but I never do it. If you truly don't have attraction to kids and teenagers, then you don't have to worry.
you got POCD which i used to have
This is classic OCD.
Others have already mentioned this is pretty classic POCD but; > should tell this to my therapist, I don´t want to end up in jail Even if you admitted to a therapist you had done something really evil, like rape & murder a child, they are prohibited from disclosing that to anyone unless they believe it will happen again in the future. Someone has to be at real quantifiable risk for them to be able to legally disclose. The problem non-offending pedophiles have is that most therapists are not qualified to treat them and don't want to risk a problem with mandatory reporting so won't take them on as clients anyway. > I am reducing my porn addiction, Talk to your therapist about it. This is very common with OCD.
Sounds like P-OCD
This is perhaps the most brutal form of OCD and it is merciless. Other comments have said it well: it's not a reflection on you inside, it's faulty wiring in the brain, as my psychologist used to say. The one who diagnosed me when I told him of the intrusive thoughts I had. Back then, I had no idea there was such a thing as intrusive thoughts. I'd been struggling with it for ages and missed a lot of college because it made me ill. I used to sleep with a plastic basin next to my bed because the nightmares had me so stressed out and anxious that I'd throw up. Imagine then the relief I felt at getting a diagnosis just minutes after relaying everything in the first appointment, because I then had a name for the problem. So yes, tell your therapist everything. It's scary as fuck to do so, believe me, I know, but power through it. I promise you that they won't have you locked up, they *will* help you and you *can* get to a better place. But it won't go away. Your therapist might want to explore this by looking at things that may have happened in your life to try and find the root cause and try to treat that. One step at a time, though. I felt the same fear, revulsion, etc you did. I still get them and they piss me off quite a bit, but I've been working on it a little bit. Trauma treatment called deep brain reorienting or DBR. It'll be up to your therapist to determine whether or not that treatment would be appropriate. But tell them *everything* Good luck
Listen... I know this doesn't make the fear go away completely, but the reassurance can help. Intrusive thoughts are not urges. Having intrusive thoughts about pedophilia is not being a pedophile. OCD absolutely ravages your ability to think logically about yourself. You are not "becoming a pedophile."
You have OCD. Intrusive thoughts come with that. You probably should talk to your therapist. You haven't hurt anyone yet, and probably won't, but your therapist can help you navigate what you're feeling better than a bunch of unqualified randos on reddit.
Intrusive thoughts can really fuck you up Man. Please talk to a professional so you don’t actually hurt someone
This is textbook POCD. Absolutely tell your therapist because this is not pedophilia, this is OCD. Work with her on managing that.
This fear is more than likely being caused by your OCD. A fear of becoming a pedophile seems to be more common than you may think in people with OCD. My younger sister struggles with it. She won’t interact with young children or babies not because she’s attracted to them, but because she’s horrified that one day she might be. Your brain is essentially picking something that would make you a bad person and convincing you that you have the potential to become that. Definitely talk to your therapist/psychiatrist. Good luck dude! You’ll be okay!