POCD compulsions are repetitive mental or physical actions that are performed in an effort to relieve distress and anxiety. POCD Compulsions are physical or mental actions that a person feels motivated to do in response to an obsession.
What Are POCD Compulsions and OCD Without Compulsions?
POCD is a term to describe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in which a person's obsessions are unwanted intrusive thoughts, images, and urges about children's tendencies that elicit tremendous anxiety and fear. Approximately one-quarter of POCD sufferers from what is called primarily obsessional OCD.
POCD, also known as Pedophilia Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, is an extremely painful and shameful form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Unfortunately, those with this type of POCD, begin to question themselves and their intentions about children. They do not want to be or like the performance of a tyrant but they do it to try to prevent the frightening outcome.
- Relieve anxiety
- Prevent something bad from happening
- Seek to ensure that he is not a child deviant, etc.
For example, a mother may experience unwanted sexually intrusive thoughts about her young child (obsession). Thus she avoids (forced) carrying her child or playing with him for fear of thoughts. A person with this disease is deeply disturbed by their obsessions and does not enjoy them.
They want more than anything to escape from thoughts because of how terrifying they are and they go to great lengths to do so by performing compulsions.
What Are the Symptoms of POCD Compulsions?
POCD, by its nature, is a type of OCD that is a suspicious disorder. The OCD brain has trouble connecting with logic.
Purely obsessional obsessive-compulsive disorder is a subtype of OCD but it is slightly different from other types of OCD. Because the compulsions primarily occur in the person's head and not in the actions.
While the obsessions are unwanted and disturbing, the person feels the need to perform the compulsion to obtain absolute certainty that the obsessions are not true. Pedophiles know that they are attracted to children without a doubt.
POCD is not well known to the public. This may be in part because people with this disease experience shame and fear of being judged or ridiculed for their condition. It is one of the most misdiagnosed and misdiagnosed psychiatric conditions among all other psychiatric conditions.
Examples of POCD Compulsions
Here are some examples of common compulsions for POCD that include, but are not limited to:
- Avoid ordinary situations that involve even the most common and simplest physical contact with a child.
- Avoid normal activities or duties towards children such as bathing, changing clothes or diapers, and other routine caregiving activities.
- Avoid reading articles or watching shows that somehow depict child sexual abuse, whether explicitly or not.
- Constantly seeking advice and reassurance from trusted loved ones about self-doubt and guilt.
- Always review precise indications or past events and encounters that may show signs of pedophile behavior.
- Avoid media (TV shows, movies, photographs, social media platforms) that have children in them.
- Wash hands after touching things that children have touched so that they do not "contaminate".
- Keep a mental note of the signs or write them down throughout the day to use as reassurance that they are not behaving inappropriately.
- Neutralizing thoughts by replacing a “bad” thought with a “good” one.
- Acknowledging intrusive thoughts on others.
- Punishing themselves (not eating enough, calling themselves mean names, etc.) for having ideas.
- Cleanse the groin area if they feel something thereafter thinking.
- Re-do something if it has an intrusive idea while neutralizing it (eg if someone walks into a room with an intrusive idea, they may back off and re-enter while trying not to think).
How Do you Stop POCD Compulsions?
People with OCD are encouraged to seek treatment from a mental health provider who specializes in treating OCD. OCD specialists are equipped to treat a wide range of OCD subtypes, including pedophilia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Like all types of OCD, children's OCD can be treated through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Specifically with treatment approaches called exposure response prevention (ERP), and mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy.
POCD can be treated and stopped by the following three types of therapy:
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This type of treatment teaches patients that everyone experiences intrusive thoughts. Individuals will also learn that intrusive thoughts have no power over them. Therefore, by responding to their thoughts through compulsive behaviors, their thoughts are given more power and credibility. So, their fears and obsessions are reinforced. Mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy is a very effective OCD treatment, especially when combined with ERP.
- Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP): This type exposes patients to situations related to their intrusive thoughts that cause them anxiety. The goal of this therapy is to prevent the patient from completing his or her compulsive behaviors when they are triggered by intrusive thoughts. The situations that are encountered will increase over time so that the patient can face and overcome the most terrifying scenario. Once they can stop themselves from responding to their intrusive thoughts with compulsive behaviors, they can experience tremendous relief from OCD symptoms.
- Intensive Outpatient (IOP) OCD Treatment Program: In this type, if patients experience severe levels of anxiety due to POCD, they may benefit from participating in treatment in an outpatient obsessive-compulsive disorder (IOP) program. Gateway Institute offers intensive outpatient treatment options as well as regular outpatient psychotherapy sessions. Also, it offers a free 30-minute consultation with one of our experienced and caring physicians at our beautiful County locations, Scottsdale, Arizona, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
OCD Symptoms
OCD symptoms usually worsen over time and can take over a person's life. So it is very important to seek treatment for this disease as soon as possible with a skilled and experienced OCD professional who can provide expertise and support during this journey.
Advice for Those with POCD
If you have POCD, the fact that just two-thirds of people react successfully to ERP therapy may seem frightening. It is a good idea to keep the following in mind:
- Many persons who do not benefit from ERP do not complete their therapist's given homework tasks as part of their POCD treatment. Others discontinue their treatment. There is little reason to believe you will improve if you do not follow the therapist's advice or if you quit attending therapy altogether. So, you're in charge of this part!
- If you do not feel better after ERP, you can consider medication.
- You can always attempt ERP again in the future, whether or not you are on medication. Even if you do not profit from the therapy at first, it is conceivable that you will benefit later.
Conclusion
The idea of actually getting a cure for this disease can be terrifying, especially when you think your obsession is indescribable and irreversible. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most effective treatment method for POCD. Although there are many forms and variations of CBT, the types most likely to help OCD use a combination of cognitive, behavioral, and mindfulness-based interventions.
