Masturbation

[Mop]

I got horny in school, somehow, and was grinding my legs together in class, then looked at some stimulating photos and ended up gripping the desk and squeezing my legs together. I feel disgusted. What should I do?

[Mo]

I think it's a good idea to refrain from doing that again, especially when it comes to looking at photos you find arousing when you're in class (whether or not those would count as pornographic or overtly sexual if someone else were to see them), but I don't think there's anything you really need to do about what happened. Sometimes arousal happens at inconvenient times, and it can take a minute to realize how you're feeling and adjust your physical response appropriately.

[Mop]

I definitely know not to do it again, it was a year ago. But, I’m still completely repulsed that I did that in the first place. It’s disgusting

[Elise]

Hi there Mop, would I be correct in inferring that these thoughts recalling the situation and feeling disgust are intrusive and recurring?

In your other thread, we also spoke about you intrusive thoughts about disgust and shame, and discussing these with a therapist from an OCD perspective/addressing intrusive thoughts perspective. Have you had a chance to bring this up with them at all, or is your next appointment still upcoming?

[Mop]

I’m sorry if I’m being annoying- and no I haven’t. I just ended it with my old therapist, and the new one is still asking intake questions, so I’m kind of stuck

[Sam W]

Hi Mop,

Once you're done with intake, or even in the process of intake (sometimes therapists will ask if there are specific issues or concerns that you want to focus on) do you feel like you could ask them to prioritize working with you around intrusive thoughts?

[Mop]

I’m not sure.. as much as I’d love to, I was specifically told sexually isn’t her specialty

[Carly]

Hey Mop -- it's typical for mental health providers to have a specialty. Generally what this means is that this provider has specific experience or interest in treating certain kinds of cases, but it doesn't always mean it's the only kind of work they do. I do think it's a good idea to check in with your provider about this before you talk in detail, but I think this still counts as something that's OCD related and something you can discuss. Is that the kind of specialization this provider has?

[Mo]

I will say, too, that even if the therapist doesn't specialize in sexuality-related issues, she still may have some thoughts about dealing with intrusive thoughts in general that would apply to your situation.

[Mop]

Yes. I’ll try bringing it up to her at our next session

[Nicole]

Hi Mop,

This sounds like a great idea. If you feel comfortable, please let us know how your next session goes and we can try to brainstorm what to do next if that's what you're interested in. Please take care!

[Mop]

I wanted to apologize for the original post I made, it was weird and I shouldn’t have posted that information on a public forum. Thank you for the help though, I really appreciated it!

[Sam W]

Hi Mop,

I'm glad we were able to help! And no need to apologize, we're here to answer all kinds of questions about sex, even if they feel weird.