The reason why it started

[cutebunny]

Hello guys! So it's a night for me where I remember something that happened to me 4 years ago and I'm crying right now. I was sexually assaulted on the street. And a few days later i was followed by a man in the metro, both incidents left a huge impact on me as to where I'd have panic attacks in public transportation. (That's what I named them, I'd be nervous and my heart would beat fast and squeeze and I'd control everyone looking my way) 

 

I keep remembering the moment i was assaulted and i feel so bad even though it wasn't my fault at all. Recently I got into thinking, the incident happened in September 2014 and I started having sexual ocd thoughts in January 2015. I did have ocd before, I'd think my loved ones would pass away if i didn't perform some actions such as praying, touching on a table, putting my book on that particular place. But sexual ocd started a few months after those events. 

 

I'd like to have your opinions. Is it a coincidence that i started having sexual ocd in 2015, at the age of 19 or was it from the assaults I've been through? 

[PolarBear]

There does seem to be some evidence that sometimes a theme will emerge from a precipitating situation or event. However, knowing where your OCD originated does nothing to get you on the road to recovery. Once OCD starts, where it came from is immaterial. OCD keeps chugging along, powered by compulsions.

[cookiemonster]

I would suggest linked. Have you had any ptsd treatment? 

[St Mike]

In my opinion, the sexual assults had a traumatic impact on you and that trauma as well as your OCD should be treated.

[cutebunny]

Thank you for your replies, you're right it's not that important how it started. Also, I've been getting treatment for my ocd, since sept 2015 but we haven't talked about the assault much. It did traumatize me and I've grown phobia towards some stuff that were linked to that moment. 

Edited September 16, 2018 by cutebunny

[Wonderer]

Hey, I truly believe there is a link to incidents that actually happen to us and our OCD, not always but if you have OCD it’s gunna latch onto things we fear and if something unpleasant has happened to us then yes it can trigger a theme, for example, I had an incident as you describe happen to me when I was 4, randomly as I sat at my door step...I began to suffer sexual theme OCD thoughts about me possibly being capable of the same thing when my eldest son was 4! I never saw the link until a counsellor pointed it out during a life river exercise! Their are other themes I have directly related to things from my past! X

[snowbear]

15 hours ago, cutebunny said:

you're right it's not that important how it started.

1 hour ago, Wonderer said:

if you have OCD it’s gunna latch onto things we fear and if something unpleasant has happened to us then yes it can trigger a theme

Their are other themes I have directly related to things from my past

Wonderer is quite right that OCD will latch onto things we fear. However looking for links between what's happened to you and what OCD themes you have is potentially misleading. A lot of therapy time can be wasted exploring 'links' that are irrelevant to fixing either the trauma or your OCD. 

The only true 'link' is how you respond to stress/anxiety. The way you think rather than what you think.

The  actual link will be that you make a particular kind of interpretation when given a certain kind of experience. Learn to recognise 'This is how I think when I'm exposed to stress, this is the way I tend to interpret things when I'm anxious'. Changing that response to a better one  is how to overcome OCD, not exploring themes or events from your past.

It's not what's happened, but how you responded, how you thought about it and interpreted it, which matters. 

[Wonderer]

9 hours ago, snowbear said:

Wonderer is quite right that OCD will latch onto things we fear. However looking for links between what's happened to you and what OCD themes you have is potentially misleading. A lot of therapy time can be wasted exploring 'links' that are irrelevant to fixing either the trauma or your OCD. 

The only true 'link' is how you respond to stress/anxiety. The way you think rather than what you think.

The  actual link will be that you make a particular kind of interpretation when given a certain kind of experience. Learn to recognise 'This is how I think when I'm exposed to stress, this is the way I tend to interpret things when I'm anxious'. Changing that response to a better one  is how to overcome OCD, not exploring themes or events from your past.

It's not what's happened, but how you responded, how you thought about it and interpreted it, which matters. 

Spot on! This was when I first had OCD but didn’t know I had it yet so was at conventional talking therapy, not cbt, while it was helpful to have someone to talk to at the time it wasn’t the correct treatment, dwelling on the whys is not helpful to us but learning to not react the way we do through cbt is!xx

[Guest OCDhavenobrain]

Get over OCD first then go for PTSD-treatment.

Did you start to think about it for the first time sunday night?

Try to not care which type of OCD you have, it is not even that useful to go after specific themes, you have had OCD since you were 10, accordingly to another thread. Remember that you have OCD and do not analyze if it is A,B,C, D or E -OCD

Edited September 18, 2018 by OCDhavenobrain