I have POCD and I want to rant
I’m going to start by saying i’ve been in therapy for many years, and it has been helping me understand my POCD. POCD is not the same as pedophilia. In fact, I am the least likely person to hurt a child. The thought of hurting a child brings me severe stress every time I get an intrusive thought. I’ve been getting these types of thoughts since i was 13, and I can understand it a lot better and I’m able to confidently say I’m not a pedophile. I was sexually abused as a child. Putting a child through what I went through is something i’d rather be tortured instead of doing. I use to not leave my house when I was 14 because of how severe my intrusive thoughts were. The constant fear I’ll become or I already am the thing I’m most terrified of and disgusted by. Sorry that this is scattered, I’m all over right now. But i wanted to also talk about something sensitive that makes me upset. I hate when sexual predators hide behind the label of POCD. My therapist told me people with POCD are the least likely to commit a crime such. I believe there’s other terms for sexual predators, and I just hate when they misuse mental health terms to try and justify actions. It creates a lot of stigma. If you guys would like, you can share more about this topic or your own stories. :)