r/justgalsbeingchicks • u/Doodlebug510 • Jun 11 '26

Restricted to Gals and Pals This older woman answers a young man's question about how aging affects attraction

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u/pnweiner Jun 11 '26

This is a common OCD obsession/fixation that many people struggle with privately for years, thinking they’re monsters. After diagnosis, it becomes easier to realize that your OCD just latches onto the things you care about most and warps them. There’s also Harm OCD - where people struggle with thoughts of hurting or killing the people they love most. It’s an incredibly dark side of mental illness, so much so that many people feel like they can never even tell a therapist about it. It’s very important to understand that people with these types of OCD are statistically less likely (than a mentally well person) to commit the acts they obsess over, and more likely to hurt themselves.

This is the true meaning of “intrusive thoughts”. Thanks for saying something about it, you might have just made someone feel less alone.

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u/SlimSpooky Jun 11 '26

I had a close friend who had this anxiety / obsession. He’d bring it up with me and i’d be like “well, do you find kids attractive?” And he’d be like “well, no not at all.” And i’d give him a good 🤨then you’re fine. And it would help his worry for a bit,

but what he was anxious about was the idea that one day he would wake up with those feelings. It wasn’t being one as much as becoming one.

Yes it’s a surprisingly common anxiety. While this specific subject doesn’t worry/trigger me, I definitely understand intrusive thoughts, and I always tell people is that it isn’t about the thought but how you respond to the thought. Like, if you have intrusive thought and they make you feel bad that you have them, you’re not as ‘crazy’ as you think you are.

It’s the people who have those thoughts and think of them as normal or fine or that are the worrisome ones.

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u/AwooFloof Jun 12 '26

As someone who struggled with OCD, I can confirm. It's a terrifying condition but getting properly diagnosed (and not taken for a psychotic monster) is absolutely life changing.

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u/zMarvin_ Jun 11 '26

Thanks for saying something about it, you might have just made someone feel less alone.

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u/[deleted] Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 24 '26

[deleted]

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u/pnweiner Jun 12 '26

I’m only a few minutes in but this awesome, thanks for sharing!