Aspec/OCD

[emeraldleaf]

This is less asking for specific advice than it is seeing if others have similar experiences. I have been diagnosed with OCD for most of my life and also recently started identifying as aro/ace over the past few years. However, they've started bleeding into one another as sex aversion/repulsion is becoming a trigger for intrusive thoughts and general misery, and it's getting harder to keep these two aspects of my life from influencing one another, to the point I start doubting my orientation and wonder if it's just severe aversion to sex and romance as a result of OCD. For those who are aspec and also have OCD symptoms, how do you cope?

[deValentin]

With OCD, you try in vain (though you may experience short-lived relief) to avoid mental discomfort by rearranging things or seeking greater certainty or safety in a particular domain, but you can't stop trying because you don't know any other way to appease your mind.

You may be so absorbed in your desperate search for mental comfort that you're losing romantic/sexual interest in others. I didn't experience it myself, but it's possible. However, the opposite effect is also possible: romantic/sexual interest in others could distract you from your OCD.

Another possibility is that your OCD manifests itself in the form of incessant wondering about your sexual orientation at the expense of your genuine interests.

[emeraldleaf in reply to deValentin]

This is a new perspective, thanks so much for your reply.