- Date posted
- 40w ago
False attraction
Does anyone else experience false attraction and if you do can you explain what it feels like to you?
Does anyone else experience false attraction and if you do can you explain what it feels like to you?
Yes I do. It feels like a rush of adrenaline and not in a good way (like the moment before a car accident). Flushing, GI upset, shortness of breath, tunnel vision q. It is tough though because anxiety/distress and arousal are controlled by the same physiologic mechanism so it can feel somewhat the same. I am conscious of the fact that in the past when I was actually interested in someone it was exciting/happy/butterfly feeling. The false arousal is absolutely not. I hope that helps and resonant for you.
@Midwestmother This is exactly what happens to me. Sorry may be a stupid question but what does ‘GI upset’ mean. But yeah I do get a horrible adrenaline rush. When I go out, If I see a lesbian couple or masculine lesbian sometimes I get this and it is so annoying does this happen to you as well?
@lalalalal166373 By that I mean nausea, abdominal pain. I think it mostly happens when I see women with a somewhat masculine appearance or women portrayed in hypersexualized ways.
@Midwestmother That’s interesting! Mostly when I think of this false crush I feel this INTENSE anxiety. I sometimes feel like I’ve convinced myself the crush is real.
I have this exact same thing and I thought I was crazy and I’m getting scared does anyone have any tips? My situation is my brain is trying to convince me I have a crush on people I don’t. It’s very difficult and it makes me so nauseous and anxious. I’ve had a thought that I had a crush on my teacher, my best friend, family, there’s more but a lot of this is so embarrassing and I don’t know how to control it😔 but I know I don’t but it’s like the 1% is making me think otherwise.
Hello! If you still want to chat about it, I'm all ears
@IloveDieguito hi sorry it’s quite a late reply but i just wanted some advice, lately i have been feeling false attraction to everything, masculine women, any women that are over sexualised on social media, overthinking anyone who has literally just brushed past my arm and feeling this anxiety rush as if i liked it is awful but how do i know its false attraction?
Yes and when it happens it sends my head into a spiral but deep down I know I am not sexually attracted to that person it’s just my hocd doing this to me
@Will 2339002 deep down i know the thoughts and feelings aren’t true but when i spiral i don’t even know what’s real or fake, do you get this too?
@lalalalal166373 Exactly that. It’s what is so annoying about the whole thing. I know I’m not gay but my brain still does this to me
When I get this it’s like a severe physical exhaustion and trembling, paired with dread. It does not at all feel like real attraction, but it seems the same in the moment. Then the anxiety and need for avoidance comes, along with rumination. It’s really horrible, but usually fades within a day. Sometimes it leads to other obsessions and compulsions later.
I have made much progress with this, but it still jumps up and scares me sometimes.
Just feels like normal attraction to me
SOOCD sufferers! Do you sometimes worry that you're true attraction is your false attraction and vice versa? and that you actually dont really know what true attraction is but if you go with the unwated sex you will know? Ima actually really struggeling between finding someone attractive and being attracted to someone.... I'm a straight female (I think) and I recognise a beautiful women more than a handsome men. Like I wasnt really attracted to my bf's body before actually being with him. However since in my mind, the female body has "more" if feels like I'll feel more if Im with a women? ughh soo weird. Like I dont see a men's naked body and automaticcaly get turned on, I have to be intimate with him for that to happen? honetsly between that and the romantic feelings that I feel like are not "enough" it really sounds like denial even if my therapist really diagnosed me. UGH
When I was half asleep today, trying to wake up, my brain kept asking me if I thought this picture of my friend was attractive, I kept replying with “ maybe, I don’t know, I really can’t tell” .. or… “ I feel like I do” “ maybe I do” “ I feel like I might” ,, and then I’m like wait she’s 13 in these pictures, I’m not sure if I was aware of it, but still, it doesn’t matter, I’m still saying it and I’m like “why am I saying this??” I generally don’t know how I feel anymore, I don’t wanna be a bad person, I just don’t understand why I think this is play to say, or feel?? Maybe because my brain is trying to justify it? It tries to justify everything wrong, so makes it feel like it so it makes it harder… I feel like a genuine bad person, because I don’t know how I feel about it, I really don’t know, I’m scared does it mean I’m a bad person? Because I don’t know how I feel about it. I asked myself if I’m genuinely attracted. And I don’t know anymore. Because I don’t know how I feel about it anymore, I feel like my brain is playing a part in it because it tries to tell me that it’s not wrong. Yes it is wrong though but it’s like no it’s not wrong, It makes me really scared. I generally feel like I’m attracted to her and that I have nothing against it and I don’t know what to do anymore., some people may argue that it’s not wrong, but I believe it’s wrong. So I have no idea why I fucking said that. I genuinely think it’s over. I don’t know if I actually am anymore. I asked myself do I actually feel attraction, because i used to go to a conclusion and say no I don’t. And actually feel that way. But now I don’t feel anything but like pain. Because I don’t want to be. At the same time I feel like I just lied and I do want to feel attraction. I just wanna explain how I feel but I can’t. All I know and what I can explain, is that when my brain was asking me these things I said “ I feel like I might maybe I do I can’t tell “ and why did I say that to a 13-year-old? Why? And why am I still saying it even after realizing that maybe I shouldn’t be saying it. I’m 16 for goodness sake. I don’t wanna think about these things. My brain is making me feel like I do and I do and I’m like I’m so confused.
Sometimes when I feel false attraction, I’ll say things out of disbelief and fear, for example, I see a kid that looks older and I feel sort attraction so I panic and say “I’m attracted” “I think he’s attractive” “he is/looks attractive” ,, “he’s attractive” ,, “he looks handsome” along those lines… I panic when I say these and my brain uses it against me… I genuinely feel like a bad person. I feel like I’m genuinely attracted now and that I’m a bad person and that I need to accept it, I’m so scared. I don’t want to be this person but when I think about it, it’s like it’s not bad to be one and I don’t freak out and it makes me worry
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