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Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Coping
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POCD, also known as pedophile obsessive-compulsive disorder, is a type ofOCDthat involves havingobsessions—or intrusive thoughts—that are focused on fears about being or becoming a pedophile. These obsessions trigger immense anxiety, distress, and disruptions in a person’s life.
The person feels the urge to performcompulsions, or safety behaviors, to alleviate anxiety, prevent something bad from happening, seek certainty that they are not a pedophile, etc. For example, a mother might experience unwanted sexually intrusive thoughts about her toddler (obsession) and thus avoid (compulsion) holding or playing with her child because of how terrified she is of the thoughts.
At a GlancePeople with ‘pedophile’ OCD experience persistent intrusive thoughts related to their fear of becoming a pedophile. Such obsessive thoughts are incredibly distressing to people who have them, often leading to compulsive behaviors as a way to cope. As a result, they often avoid seeing or being near children. This condition can be very distressing and disruptive, so it is important to talk to a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment. Treatment approaches often involve exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy and mindfulness skills training.
At a Glance
People with ‘pedophile’ OCD experience persistent intrusive thoughts related to their fear of becoming a pedophile. Such obsessive thoughts are incredibly distressing to people who have them, often leading to compulsive behaviors as a way to cope. As a result, they often avoid seeing or being near children. This condition can be very distressing and disruptive, so it is important to talk to a mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment. Treatment approaches often involve exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy and mindfulness skills training.
Avoidance Coping and Why It Creates Additional Stress
Pedophile OCD Is Not Pedophilia
It’s important to note that pedophile OCD is not the same thing as being a pedophile. The obsessions of obsessive-compulsive disorder are ego-dystonic, which means they are the opposite to a person’s desires, values, andself-concept.
A pedophile experiences sexual thoughts, urges, attraction, and fantasies that are ego-syntonic, which means they align with a person’s self-concept, feelings, and desires. The sexual thoughts and feelings about children are pleasurable to the pedophile.
Symptoms of Pedophile OCD
Common Pedophile OCD Obsessions
In society, the term “obsessed” is often used to indicate something that a person really enjoys. For example, “I am obsessed with Milk Bar ice cream!” Psychologically speaking, this is the opposite of what an obsession really is.
An obsession is a persistent,unwanted thought/image/urge that causes distress. It is not enjoyable, and it haunts the person experiencing it and cannot be easily let go of.
Common obsessions of POCD include, but are not limited to:
Common Uncontrollable Thoughts Affecting OCD Sufferers
Common Pedophile OCD Compulsions
Compulsions are physical or mental acts that a person feels driven to carry out in response to an obsession. They do not want to be or like performing compulsions but do so to try and prevent a dreaded outcome.
While the most well-known compulsion of OCD is handwashing, many people with OCD performcovert mental compulsions. This can make it difficult for others to recognize that someone is struggling and—in addition to the immense shame people with pedophile obsessions feel—can act as a barrier to the person accessing proper treatment.
Common compulsions of POCD include, but are not limited to:
Common Obsessions and Compulsions Among People With OCD
What Causes Pedophile OCD?
While there isn’t an exact identifiablecause of obsessive-compulsive disorder, research shows that there are bothgeneticand biological causes of OCD. Specific areas of the brain are impacted in those with OCD.
UCLA School of Medicine conducted PET scans to measure the brain activity of those with and without OCD. When compared, the brain with OCD is much more hyperactive than the brain without OCD.
What about environmental factors such astrauma, pregnancy, other mental health conditions, etc.? These can contribute to the onset of OCD, but a person still needs to have a biological predisposition to develop it.
How Is Pedophile OCD Diagnosed?
Pedophile OCD is just a nickname and not an actual diagnosis. Thediagnosisis obsessive-compulsive disorder, regardless of the content of the obsessions.
The nicknames forsubtypes of OCDhelp give people a name for what they are experiencing, as many people associate OCD with fears of contamination and are unaware of all of the ways that OCD can manifest.
It is imperative to find an OCD specialist when seeking help to ensure an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.
When searching for an OCD specialist, here are some questions to ask:
The International Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Foundation (IOCDF) has aFind Help directoryon their website where you can search for OCD specialists near you.
Treatment for Pedophile OCD
In reality, the content of obsessions does not matter in regard to treatment because it is all OCD. The gold standard treatment for OCD, regardless of the theme, is exposure and response prevention (ERP).
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
ERP is a behavioral therapy that falls under thecognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)umbrella.
OCD must be treated utilizing ERP, as behavioral change is necessary to recover.
There are therapeutic modalities, like traditional talk therapy, that are ineffective at best and harmful at worst when treating OCD. People with OCD over-attend to their obsessions, which leads them to over-respond to them compulsively.
Compulsions are the problem, as they alert the brain that they should pay attention to the obsessions (false alarms from an overactive fear center in the brain). The brain then fires off more obsessions.
Analyzing and attempting to find meaning in the obsessions in talk therapy is one big compulsion. The person is paying a talk therapist to over-attend to their obsessions, which only feeds the obsessive-compulsive cycle.
Furthermore, attempting to find meaning in obsessions can bedetrimentalfor people with the more taboo obsessions like pedophilia or harm obsessions. It can lead the person with OCD to believe that they are the content of their thoughts.
Mindfulness Skills Training
Mindfulnessskills training is also effective in treating OCD. It helps the person learn to accept the presence of intrusive thoughts/images/sensations/urges without engaging in them compulsively or resisting them.
Learning to let thoughts and feelings come and go without judgment or compulsive engagement is a crucial step in recovery.
Treatments for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Coping With Pedophile OCD
While the theme of obsessions does not matter regarding treatment, it absolutely matters regarding the shame and stigma that a person faces.
Even while knowing how ego-dystonic they are, living with these obsessions can feel like the ultimate loss of identity and a secret some think they will have to carry to their grave.
Telling a friend you are afraid you are contaminated after touching a doorknob is far less stigmatizing and shameful than telling a friend you are afraid you are a pedophile because you have relentless unwanted sexual thoughts about children.
POCD can impair a person’s functioning across various domains: work,sex,relationships, schooling, etc.
Self-Help Strategies for Living With OCD
Takeaways
While disruptive, OCD is treatable and many with the disorder go on to have rich and meaningful lives. They get married, have children, travel, pursue their dream careers, etc. ERP is an effective treatment modality that has been proven to reduce symptoms significantly for most people.Recovery is possible, which is why it is so important to find a trained and experienced mental health professional!
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3 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Mental Health.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.Yale School of Medicine.What does an OCD brain look like?Hezel DM, Simpson HB.Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S85-S92.Additional ReadingHezel DM, Simpson HB.Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S85-S92.International OCD Foundation.Find Help directory. IOCDF website.
3 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Institute of Mental Health.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.Yale School of Medicine.What does an OCD brain look like?Hezel DM, Simpson HB.Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S85-S92.Additional ReadingHezel DM, Simpson HB.Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S85-S92.International OCD Foundation.Find Help directory. IOCDF website.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Institute of Mental Health.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.Yale School of Medicine.What does an OCD brain look like?Hezel DM, Simpson HB.Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S85-S92.
National Institute of Mental Health.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Yale School of Medicine.What does an OCD brain look like?
Hezel DM, Simpson HB.Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S85-S92.
Hezel DM, Simpson HB.Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S85-S92.International OCD Foundation.Find Help directory. IOCDF website.
International OCD Foundation.Find Help directory. IOCDF website.
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