Can I be born with ocd?

So basically I didn’t know till my hocd started. But looking back at my life I had ocd since I was a kid. Like 6-7 years old. First time happening I remember that when I was doing stuff many times I had to say something like a little poem in my head to stop it. Then I had this thing were if I felt my left foot touch the floor 5 times I had to do the touch the floor with my right foot too. Then I had something I guess contamination??? Basically after washing my hands I had a sensation on my hand like I could still “feel” the germs and I had to wash them again. Then I started having thoughts of my family members getting hurt. I had intrusive thoughts about me hurting my dog. Then I had this obsession that a guy who used to be in my school is looking for me to beat me up. And how it’s this obsession about my sexuality even tho I never doubted or questioned it before. Is that possible??? Like can you be born with it? I’m pretty sure both my parents have it too. At least at some level. Take my father for example he had an obsession that he was going to die the moment he turned 30.

Nica

Date posted: 18d ago

Yes indeedy! OCD can be caused by genetics, trauma, medical, or environmental.

geodrimilis

Date posted: 19d ago

Like it makes sense now that I randomly started obsessing over wether I’m gay or not

User type: Therapist

Date posted: 19d ago

Hi, it’s completely understandable to reflect on your life and notice patterns that point to OCD, especially after experiencing something like Sexual Orientation OCD. The truth is, the cause of OCD is still not fully understood, but research suggests that it’s likely a combination of genetic, biological, and environmental factors. In other words, it can run in families, but also develop due to various life experiences or changes in the brain's chemistry. OCD obsessions can definitely change throughout our lives, often shifting to focus on different things. It's not uncommon for OCD to target what matters most to us. For example, if you have a strong bond with your family, pets, or even your identity, OCD might start creating intrusive thoughts around those areas because it’s trying to get a reaction from you. It can latch onto whatever is most important, which can make it feel like it's attacking your core values or sense of self. So yes, it’s definitely possible for OCD to bring up worries or doubts that seem out of nowhere, like with your sexuality. OCD tends to fixate on the things that you hold dear or take for granted. It can feel like it’s questioning your identity or values, but it's really just the disorder's way of preying on what matters most to you. What we want to do with those thoughts is let them be there. Not try to figure them out or solve them. Have you tried to do that before? Here is an article on Sexual Orientation OCD. At NOCD we treat OCD with ERP treatment. Have you tried to do therapy for your OCD symptoms?

geodrimilis

Date posted: 19d ago

@Lucila de Mujica No I havent done therapy I just ignore any sensation and thought cuz I know that it’s not who I am

User type: Therapist

Date posted: 18d ago

@geodrimilis - I can totally understand trying to ignore the thoughts and sensations you feel, as I believe it is natural human instinct to do that yet what we know about OCD is that it is very backwards and ignoring or pushing away intrusive thoughts in OCD doesn't work because it reinforces the idea that these thoughts are dangerous and need to be avoided, which strengthens the OCD cycle and the urge to perform compulsions. Unwanted thoughts are just that: thoughts. They do not have any intrinsic value or meaning. We cannot control any initial thought, image, urge, or feeling that pops into our head, but we can choose how we respond to it. Through ERP we learn effective ways to respond to those obsessions so as to not feed them which eventually makes the thoughts become less frequent and intensive. I encourage you to read this: https://www.treatmyocd.com/blog/effective-ways-you-can-respond-to-unwanted-thoughts and also consider treatment as there is a way to learn to overcome OCD and get back to living the life you want to live.

jammywammy

Date posted: 18d ago

ah yes I struggled with ocd when I was about 9 if I first remember. my fear was if I didnt go out with my family whenever they drove somewhere they would get in a car crash and die. I would stop whatever I was doing and go. it starts young

User type: Therapist

Date posted: 17d ago

We do believe OCD is hereditary and can jump generations. It sounds like you have already identified various themes throughout your life in different levels of discomfort. There is no "why" to the themes OCD gets stuck on and seeking the answer to 'why' is also a compulsion. There is no 'why', it is just OCD. Regardless of the theme, it is all OCD. Some themes are more sticky then others. I know it can be frustrating and feel hopeless. As humans we sometimes reach the limits of our own knowledge and feel as if there is no options at that point. Yet, we can lean on the knowledge of others to increase our own knowledge once we hit our own limits. ERP is the best way to address OCD and it is really important to have a specialist guide you so you understand goals, techniques, and skills while supporting you through that process. Once you learn how to respond to OCD and make good progress, you will have all the skills you need to go forward on your own. Try to sit with not solving the thought and not 'figuring it out' and see how long you can tolerate it, be sure to label OCD thoughts (images, urges or sensations) as OCD as well.

Vee4

Date posted: 17w ago

I think I have severe ocd

So I've had OCD since I was a child. Like really young. The first intrusive thought I can remember was when I was 5. It just keeps getting worse and lately they've been making me physically ill or throwing me into extreme panic attacks again ( ones where I can't move my body ) the other night I thought God was trying to kill me because I was thinking about ending myself from OCD+ life issues but in reality I was just having a panic attack😭😭it affects me daily. It gets a little better with therapy but I don't see therapy coming into my life any time soon and I'm not even sure if I would want to go (for multiple reasons). To wrap this up if you have severe ocd can you tell me what it's like?? I don't want to label anything without proper research and hearing others perspectives. Thank you!! <3 (My profile says all of my subtypes if that helps any)

Wessers19

Date posted: 10w ago

Could being exposed to content as a kid affected me in this way?

Trying not to seek reassurance, but rather connect the dots on my OCD and possible reasons as to why I am the way I am. I have severe OCD (or at least I hope I do) mainly surrounding POCD. I've had symptoms of OCD the majority of my life but this theme has come up more recently. When I was a kid, and i'm talking 6-7, I was first exposed to some really gross adult content online. It was introduced to me by a friend of mine around the same age of me. I saw some really disgusting things that a 6-7 year old should definitely not see. This was not a one time occurrence, as I had been exposed to taboo topics online years to come after that, such as the same friend introducing me to Omegle... And i'm sure you can imagine how that went, theres a lot of genuinely disgusting human beings on there. Coming back to the reason for making this post; is it possible to early exposure to this content could be one of the reasons I struggle with POCD? It genuinely scares me to death because you hear that real p*dos dealt with simular situations when they were kids, so thats kind of making me feel that this could be more than OCD, and I could be a genuinely bad person. My POCD feels so real, that at times i'm fully convinced its not OCD. Sometimes I can't even distinguish the feelings of attraction between a younger person and an older person, except for the feeling of anxiety and fear. Its really hard to explain without going into detail, but it just feels so real. Some feedback on this would be great, thank you all.

UnknownPersonel

Date posted: 9w ago

Dad with pocd

Please read this. I’ve had ocd pretty much a lot of my life but never knew what it was until my senior year of highschool. I’m 21 with 2 kids and i believe i’ve had pocd a little bit before my daughter was born (which was 8 months ago). It made me start looking at all kids differently and i hate it. But it really started triggering me about 3 months ago. I’ve been thinking if i’d intentionally touched or harmed my kids the wrong way, or any kids for that matter. This started giving me false memories (or at least hope they are). I’ve been having panic attacks, yelling at myself, punching walls, praying, and even thoughts of ending my own life. I grew up in a severe toxic household throughout my childhood and teenage life. I’ve never wished that on my kids since i became a dad. I wanna give them the life i never got. I look back my photos of my children and i feel like i’m a complete fraud of a dad. I cannot look at my kids or be around them a lot of times. I can’t hold my daughter right. I can’t change their diaper when they need it. Even my son came and was hugging on me the other night while i was watching tv and i acted like a stranger to him. I can very little do this stuff sometimes because it’s either i get relief or i push my thoughts as far back as i can. I get scared if i did something to not just my kids, but any other kids in the past. I have such a a great life and such a beautiful family. It was hard and stressful at first being young with a family but i couldn’t be more thankful at all for them. I’m just so lost and stressed right now that i just don’t know what to do anymore

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Can I be born with ocd?

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