Hi, I am pretty sure I am getting really paranoid now, but I just have to ask this question because it's killing me.
So I think I have HOCD (not diagnosed), but now I am getting really paranoid about certain things that will can turn you gay. I keep thinking that I need to avoid areas that have a certain smell, I am avoiding certain foods, etc. Because I fear they can turn people gay.
I am 17 years old, male, and I believe I've had OCD for awhile. I remember having solipsistic thoughts when I was really young, and I would think about this for awhile (I don't remember how long this lasted). Anyways, near the end of elementary school (around the age of 13), I began showing signs of what I now believe is OCD.
I remember buying a copy of Black Ops II to play the zombies game during the day, but at night would constantly fear that zombies would actually enter the house and hurt the ones I love, and I would constantly have to tell myself that zombies do not exist, but only to be countered by the idea that anything is possible.
Later, I had fears that the door was left unlocked at night, and I would constantly worry that someone would enter.
After that, I had fears about something happening to my family. For example when my grandparents were home, I would hear a sound at night, fearing it was one of them having a health problem, and I would feel the urge to check and make sure they were alright (this one lasted for a while).
When I began taking my guitar practice more seriously, I would appreciate my improvement. As a result, I became cautious about which positions my hands were in, and would avoid putting them in my pockets, or avoid lifting heavy objects. If I did have to lift heavy objects, I would constantly worry that the weight of the object popped a blood vessel, or twisted my hand in such a way that I could never play guitar again.
More recently, I was overly-cautious about my head movement. What I mean by that is, that I would literally avoid sudden head movements in fear of a concussion which I worried would lower intelligence. This became much more extreme a few months later, when I worried that my intelligence could be lowered by lead (or any harmful chemical) exposure. I would avoid places with peeling paint, or renovations in progress. I also did keep taking IQ tests to confirm my intelligence. However, each time I did, my anxiety would increase in fear that something changed such that my intelligence was lowered. This caused me to lose a lot of sleep, which in turn resulted in me doing even more poorly on IQ tests, which further accelerated the anxiety cycle. At this time I also avoided most discussions that require understanding of topics in fear of being called an idiot, or moron. After my school year however, I was sort of reassured that I was intelligent, as I did do well on final exam questions that alot of other classmates didn't do well on. This didn't help much though, as I quickly went back to anxiety mode, when I was reminded that school performance has little to do with intelligence. I visited forums where other people felt they were on intelligence declines as well,
Present - HOCD? [PLEASE read at least this part]
Now, I am not really any better. I believe I have HOCD, which started out one night when I questioned the possibility of being gay. I kept googling my symptoms, and eventually found that many people experience the same thing (well that's what I think). It started out with groinal responses (I think) to other dudes, to constant anxiety and thinking of the possibility. Then, I started getting a constant painful/aching feeling in my groin area, which intensified around dudes. I couldn't tell my parents about this problem because I didn't want to put this problem on them as well. I wasn't really worried about social repercussions though, because I know I am not gay, but I keep questioning it for some reason. I did eventually tell my parents, which gave me some relief, probably because it meant that I would be able to go for therapy, and because I could communicate my issues with them. I keep pacing around the house analyzing my behaviour during the day, and I would keep analyzing my reactions to the intrusive thoughts. I don't really get turned on by the thoughts. I also analyze my reaction to girls, to which I do usually get an erection. My groinal response eventually stopped, but occasional tingling was present, and my anxiety is also not as much?? Why is that?? Does that mean anything???? But now I feel something has changed. Earlier today, I @!@@@! the light switch in my washroom on and off a couple times, and then a couple times again, for whatever reason. I am right now fearing that this flickering thing would cause a response that turns someone gay?? After this flickering, I went for a car-ride because my parents thought I needed some fresh air, but by the time I got back I started feeling sick, and felt low sex drive, even though I was getting boners to girls a couple hours ago??? What does that mean??? Is this even HOCD??? If anyone could answer this and help me out, I would greatly appreciate it.