Peer Support: Worrying about being a pedophile? Get to know the monster you are running away from!

[Jim Burton]

https://map-union.org/blog/peer-support ... cd-anxiety

Over the last ten years, there has been a lot of talk about "pedophilia" as a common theme for OCD sufferers. Some of it appears to be opportunistic, coming from professionals, some of it perpetuates stigma, yet some of it comes directly from sufferers. While using "Pedophilia OCD" as a diagnostic term is controversial for a variety of reasons, there is no doubt that many people suffer obsessive and compulsive thoughts about their sexuality, particularly in their youth.

In particular, it is unsurprising to find this anxiety often centers upon "pedophilic" feelings - perhaps the most stigmatized of all sexual inclinations at present, yet surprisingly common. Pedophilia can of course be "controlled" like any other sexuality - pedophiles who live among us attest to the fact they are not ticking time bombs - a stereotype that only exists to make some feel better about their own hateful obsessions. But while not a mental health issue in and of itself, pedophilia, or the fear thereof, might be the starting point for deeper mental traumas rooted in social stigma.

[...]

And while Sexuality OCD sufferers may indeed be carriers of the social stigma and guilt that MAPs are trying to escape, it is incumbent upon MAPs who have the strength to confront that stigma, to help others past it.

Ultimately, when we confront and erase this deadly stigma together, we help clear the air of the confusing, befuddling smog of misinformation. OCD sufferers might then learn that pedophilia needn't rule their lives, while actual pedophiles and MAPs might discover it isn't so much of a curse after all!

[Learning to undeny]

Good article. It is worth mentioning that, when and where homosexuality is seen as a negative thing, there are people with OCD worried about being homosexual. But I think this presentation of OCD has seen a decline as LGBT has advanced.

I think I read that stigmatisation (for example, of pedophiles) does not create the OCD, it only steers it towards a specific theme. But learning that pedophiles are not monsters would surely help people with this presentation.