Internatnal OCD Foundatn | How Do I Know I’m Not Really Gay/Straight?

Contents:

• YOU’RE NOT GAY: HOMOSEXUALY ANXIETY OCD
• HOW DO I KNOW I’M NOT REALLY GAY/STRAIGHT?
• ALL QUEER PEOPLE HAVE 'GAY ANXIETY' THAT CHANG OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE
• HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GAY? SIGNS YOU ARE GAY
• 'HOMOSEXUAL OCD': STRAIGHT MEN WHO SPECT THEY ARE GAY
• HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY
• SOCIAL ANXIETY YOUNG GAY MEN
• I'M GAY AND YOU'RE NOT: UNRSTANDG HOMOSEXUALY FEARS

YOU’RE NOT GAY: HOMOSEXUALY ANXIETY OCD

I am wrg for the benef of heterosexual folks who hope to e this article to unrstand their fears about beg gay (also known as gay OCD or HOCD). Only ten mut after I had started readg the most recent posts, however, I realized that somethg was wrong: The folks wh gay fears were clearly not gay. I would later learn that tly gay people may also get HOCD, but that they falsely fear that they are heterosexual.

If I thought for a mute that even one of the straight HOCD sufferers on the board was gay, I would do the same for him or her. As of this wrg I have been bombard by threads, private msag, e-mail, and stant msag by straight folks terrified that they are gay (and a very small number of gay and bisexual folks terrified that they, too, are not their real sexual orientatn).

HOW DO I KNOW I’M NOT REALLY GAY/STRAIGHT?

Neverthels, is sufficiently wispread to warrant more specialists the field, more media exposure, and more unrstandg among therapists relativ, iends, and, pecially, gay people who give the wrong advice.

HOCD works the same way: Heterosexual sufferers feel that the gay thoughts are real even though, their hearts, they know that they are straight. I was tght that gay stuff was disgtg, but when I thk of beg held by a man I get butterfli my stomach.

The only anxiety I feel is over what others thk of gays and how I thk I’ll be treated by straight people power if they fd out about me.

ALL QUEER PEOPLE HAVE 'GAY ANXIETY' THAT CHANG OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE

I don’t feel any anxiety when I thk about how lucky gay guys who are out of the closet mt be, and I wish I uld be like them.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM GAY? SIGNS YOU ARE GAY

Lbians are erotilly and romantilly attracted to other women, gay men to other men, and bi-sexuals to both men and women. However, the nstant dmbeat of discrimatn, hostily, and homophobic msag rults ternalized homophobia, the belief that beg LGBT is wrong, which is acpanied by self-loathg, secury, and anxiety. 3) Do you worry that you are NOT attracted to members of the oppose sex (if you're straight) and that 'that might mean' that you are gay?

In orr to have doubts about one’s sexual inty, a sufferer need not ever have had a homo- or heterosexual experience, or any type of sexual experience at all. If on the other hand they happen to be homosexual they may obss about the possibily that they might really be straight. ” Some people’s doubts are further plited by havg such experienc as hearg other people talkg or lookg their directn and thkg that the people mt be analyzg their behavr or appearance and talkg about them – discsg how they mt be gay (or straight).

Let’s face , gay people have always been an opprsed mory wh our culture, and to sudnly thk of beg this posn, and to be stigmatized this way, n be ighteng. I have sometim wonred if those who experience the most distrs om such thoughts as the do so bee they were raised wh more strongly homophobic or anti-gay attus to beg wh, or if is simply bee one’s sexualy n be such a basic doubt. Lookg at attractive men or women, or pictur of them, or readg sexually oriented lerature or pornography (hetero- or homosexual), to see if they are sexually excg.

'HOMOSEXUAL OCD': STRAIGHT MEN WHO SPECT THEY ARE GAY

Observg themselv for evince of “lookg, ” talkg, walkg, drsg, or gturg like someone who is eher gay or straight. Compulsively reviewg and analyzg past teractns wh other men or women to see if they have acted like a gay or straight person.

Readg articl on the ter about how an dividual n tell if they are gay or straight to see which group they might be most siar to. Can you sudnly turn to a homosexual (or heterosexual) even if you have never felt or acted that that way? If I get sexual sensatns when viewg sexual material of an oppose orientatn do mean I am gay (or straight)?

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY

Avoidg standg close to, touchg or bshg agast members of the same sex (or oppose sex if the sufferer is gay).

SOCIAL ANXIETY YOUNG GAY MEN

Not readg or lookg at vios news reports books or articl havg anythg to do wh gay people or other sexual subjects. Tryg to not look or act effemately (if a man), or a mascule way (if a woman), (or vice versa if the sufferer is gay).

Not drsg ways that would make one look effemate (if a man), or mascule (if a woman), (aga vice versa if the sufferer is gay). Avoidg associatg wh anyone who may be gay or who seems to lean that directn (if the sufferer is heterosexual).

The flip si of this is when they look at thgs havg to do wh sex of an oppose orientatn and then feel aroed some way, which they then nclu to mean that they liked , which means that they are gay (or straight). Dog a seri of wrg assignments of a uple of pag each that suggt more and more that you actually are gay or wish to be. Makg a seri of three-mute tap that based on the wrgs gradually suggt more and more that you are gay, and listeng to them several tim a day changg them when they no longer bother you).

I'M GAY AND YOU'RE NOT: UNRSTANDG HOMOSEXUALY FEARS

Avoid observg yourself to see if you behaved a way you image a homosexual or member of the oppose sex would. I suffer om an unpleasant, sometim paralyzg, ndn lots of gay people have mon: gay me, my gay anxiety  on really strong when I get a manicure, which sucks bee this self-intified masra lbian lov to gaze down at her shy, ep red nails. She don't appreciate I ually let Meek Zara anxiety lat bee I jt told a stranger that I was sgle — even though I'm the anxiety lat bee I jt told a stranger that I was sgle — even though I'm love wh someone — bee I was worried that my gayns might jar urse, I'll hear some pretty, blon girl gh about her handsome boyiend to her manicurist, tellg her where he works, where he's om, when they plan on movg together and maybe even that he's "the one.

But don't heal the wound my se,  helped ease the anxiety jt enough so I had the urage to look unrneath the bandage and take a good look at the this was when I realized my anxiety was gay anxiety, and my queer iends suffered, 's that anxiety we feel when we're on vatn a untry where we uld be arrted for holdg hands wh our girliends or safe to hold hands at the hotel?

And my iends who are more visibly gay suffer om the same anxiety, only 's rooted a different fear beg harassed the streets, they fear their visibily will make them a dangero target and, sometim, they wonr if they should tone down their gayns jt to be ls vulnerable certa we are who we are, and sadly, we live a world that's unpredictable for gay people.