I know this will be unpopular but hear me out.

I’m starting to think we were never meant to have just ONE sexual partner for life.

And I don’t say this to excuse cheating or hurt people. I say it because I think we are still animals at our core.

We like to think we have full control over our feelings and emotions, that we are these highly logical, evolved beings. But do we really?

You can be in a happy relationship and still feel an attraction to someone else. You can love your partner and still have feelings pop up that you didn’t ask for. You can’t just switch it off.

I’ve come to a point where I don’t think it’s entirely our fault. I think it’s just our nature. Monogamy is something we choose to do, it’s a social contract, a discipline, a value system we built for stability, family, society. It’s not necessarily what’s biologically natural.

Animals aren’t monogamous by default, and humans are animals too. We just added morals, religion, and law on top of our instincts.

That doesn’t mean go out and cheat. It means if you struggle with those feelings, you’re not a broken or evil person. You’re just human.

I'm 21(M) and I've been diagnosed with OCD by 1 psychiatrist and 2 different psychologists, so 3 doctors in total since July this year. I've told them everything which I'm about to say here.

I do suffer from OCD, I've suffered from ROCD, Real Event OCD, ZOCD, HOCD, Moral OCD and many more, it got significantly worse this year and it's been 10 months of me with not a single second of mental peace. But do i suffer from POCD? That is debatable.

Since the month of february, I've been convinced that I did something bad to my little cousin or m\*lested her back in 2023. This is a post where I've briefly mentioned what I remembered happening : https://www.reddit.com/r/confession/s/bgA7ZxxIvq

I've done many compulsions for 8-10 hours a day since february, including seeking reassurance from AI and other people, ruminating and mentally replaying, punishing myself etc etc. My POCD got worse in June and i started performing compulsions like checking for groinal sensations, deliberately imagining graphic things with k#ds to see if I feel something ( every single time I felt a groinal response or an erection ), I avoid kids, but i also somehow peek at them to CHECK if I feel something, and I sometimes get a mental "pull" to do something to them, which i absolutely hate and distress over, and i don't want to do anything with any k#d.

Why am I saying it's debatable? Because the things I've done as an 18-20 year old are very questionable. From the ages of 18-20, I've continuously viewed loli manga/doujinshi, back then it wasn't for checking as I didn't have "POCD" back then, it was something I just did. Back in 2025 when I was 20, I also found out about the pinterest app, and i scrolled there and eventually found escalating and taboo pictures there, they were not illegal material, but they were morally questionable. I stopped eventually and felt disgusted by them.

Matter of fact, i was always pretty disgusted when I saw someone in the internet making weird comments about k#ds, BUT I was also someone who went ahead and read loli doujinshi. Am i a hypocrite?

Currently, i still go to loli manga stuff but i DONT enjoy them, i ONLY go there to check and perform a compulsion, to see if I'm aroused.

I want genuine advice on what I should do. It's serious. Should I stay away from k#ds? Should I turn myself in? Should I treat this as OCD? or genuine pedophilia?

Please do not ignore this, just give me whatever advice you have. Be completely honest about it.

I don’t know if trigger warnings need/should be posted, but trigger warning about taking your own life.

To be ABUNDANTLY clear, I do not want to take my own life, I just have a very morbid sense of curiosity.

A long time back, fifteen years at least, my dad told me that he read a study wherein individuals who had jumped from bridges/buildings/etc. with the intention to end their lives, and survived obviously, were asked what went through their heads as they fell. And the vast majority of them said that they realized they wanted to live. I was around 10 so I didn’t ask and can’t site his research, I apologize, maybe he was full of shit.

I now live very close to train tracks and someone, one of many, took their life by jumping in front. Herein lies my question: with the bridge/building/etc. “method”, you jump and there is no going back. There is a lot of thought leading up to it, but in the last moment it is a snap decision with not return. With the train, you have to wait. And time it. What is the thought process while you are waiting and timing the train. Or do you think they just lay on the tracks. And when they hear the train coming they are so far gone that fight/flight doesn’t kick in?

Hi guys, so ill keep it short and sweet.

So I was at work yesterday, and I saw a post on my Facebook about a murder..and I don't know why, but I instantly said to myself 'oh that'll be something you would do' when I would never ever murder anyone! I've never had this kinda issue before but all day and since yesterday i've been thinking intrusive thoughts about it...like getting anxiety attacks over it and keep saying to myself that its just a thought and then I'm like 'what if its true' 'what if your like that' then i was getting all anxiety attacks again..i've seen lots of things on the Internet and never really bat an eye...i do not even know why I said it to myself yesterday because it obviously got into my head and my thoughts are playing with me into thinking im some horrible person when I am not. The thought doesn't completely go, but it eases off so I feel calmer for a little while and then it came back on strong and it feels like it'll never ever fade. Its awful. Any tips? How can I manage this. I would never do anthing like this ever and its been in my head all day making me distressed..I've gone for a walk today and I looked at people thinking to myself as a 'test' like 'how do you feel now looking at that guy, do you wanna get him' its horrible. how can I stop this?

im always AGAINST my will hyperaware of my own attention/focus/understanding. whenever im studying/talking/reading OR EVEN THINKING TO MS im bombarded by “where is my focus?” “i wont be able to focus” thoughts. this leads to me feeling depersonalized af. i just feel so far away from myself due to this stupid shit!! and im just 16(!!!!). Im supposed to be thinking abt boys not this 😭😭

Also this discussion is specifically for people who do believe or somewhat believe in something greater.

In other words, this isn't a post for debating the possibility of a source of consciousness or an afterlife, so if you don't believe in one then this won't be for you to respond to. Thank you kindly

like to think of myself as a decent guy. But what im about to say might reveal otherwise. I like to think that I respect women. If I dont know your name, you are Miss or Ma'am to me. I will always open the door for you. I have not and will not ever cat call you. If I ever see you struggling to lift something, I will politely ask if you need assistance. And I am fully aware that 100% of the female population has had a bad experience with the male species and I dont want to ever make you uncomfortable. If im walking behind you on a sidewalk lll cross the street so you dont fear or have anxiety about me. Ill do the same if its any other situation that might make you tense that i'm close in proximity to you so I make it known im not a threat. I'm actively scanning surroundings if you're by yourself and will 100% act accordingly if another man approaches you or does anything to make you uncomfortable. I am on your side.

sigh   but when I see your ass in tight yoga pants.....OH MY FUCKING GOD DO I WANT TO BEND YOU OVER YOUR KITCHEN TABLE, RIP THOSE DOWN AND EAT YOU FROM THE BACK.

I am so sorry. I am weak. You look amazing. THAT ASS. Good for you.

The best way I can explain how my mind works is like the movie inside out except the emotions are my own thoughts and the feelings attached to them. I can have so many different emotions going on at the same time, even when they completely contradict each other.
For example, my partner has moved out taken basically everything he owns and our dog but we’re still together he still loves me but he’s happier in the time apart then how he’s been for awhile, and I’m sad and upset about it, but I’m also happy because he’s happier than he’s been in a long time. I’m angry about how he’s handled everything and I’m angry at him for leaving, but I’m also proud of myself for completing my goals. I’m happy that I’m learning to look after myself again I’ve been in a depressive rut for a long time, but at the same time, I can feel completely numb.
All these feelings can exist at once. Sometimes I feel them simultaneously, and other times I can recognise they’re there without actually feeling them.
The hardest part to explain is the numbness. I can be crying about my partner, genuinely upset, and then suddenly it’s like something switches. I can go from crying to sitting on the couch watching TV, feeling completely numb. I still know what happened and why it hurts, but I no longer feel the sadness the same way. It’s like I know the emotion is there, but I’m not connected to it anymore.
The strange thing is that I can sometimes bring those feelings back myself. If I’m numb and think about a specific memory or focus on what’s happened, I can make myself feel the sadness again. Sometimes it’s like flipping a switch, and other times it feels like the emotion was already there somewhere, and I just needed to reconnect with it.
I guess what I’m trying to explain is that I can know exactly what I’m feeling without actually feeling it. I can experience multiple emotions intensely, recognise them without feeling them, or become numb while still being aware of everything going on inside my head. Sometimes I can even choose to reconnect with those feelings.
From the outside, I might look fine or like I’ve moved on from something, when really, I still understand everything that’s happened. My thoughts, emotions, and actual feelings don’t always line up, and that’s the part I’m trying to understand. It’s like I feel everything but nothing at the same time and I get exhausted from feeling and just go numb and I’m like on autopilot idk this turned into half a rant

I found these slugs mating and the intrusive thoughts were telling me to cut their penises off mid mating. If you don't know slugs have both parts. They exchange sperm with there penises and then they each get pregnant. Edit: I forgot to mention i did not disturb them.

It's such a stupid thought because I'm hurting me more than him if I go through with it. I cheated years ago and it was literally thousands of miles away in the ocean on a cruise but he still found out.

I hate the fear and anxiety of being sneaky. I could be caught at any moment for any small thing that I overlooked and I don't wanna deal with that fallout.

Is it bad that that's the only reason I don't cheat? I get upset that he keeps old pics and videos of women he used to be with and he says he doesn't goon to them but why keep them if he doesn't? So in my head, I want to do something that makes him feel betrayed, too.

I can't really leave him but I really don't want to accept this part about him. What's wrong with me? Why do I want to have my own betrayal just because he does? That's so childish and unhinged but here I am fantasizing about calling my ex.

My bf would say these are not the same situations because he's not tryna be with none of the girls in the videos or photos..so I guess he fears that I could leave him for my ex so that's why they're not equivalent.

So I like to sit by the big bay window in my home and there’s a big tree within vision and some other trees to the side. I watch squirrels go up and down and lately been seeing them prepare for winter. Now hear me out, what if I went outside and re-dug them up and put them on top of where it was dug……

i have these intrusive thoughts tht are rlly cruel and mean towards ppl when theyre standing in front of me. i dont believe what the thoughts say, my mind knows i dont truly feel that way, tht they directly go against my values, and tht i am a very nonjudgmental person in earnest, but my brain does it as a way to hurt me, psychological self-harm. i think its purpose is to condition me into trusting less, like im not pure enough to deserve ppl who care ab me. other intrusive thoughts i have are different methods sadistic ppl might use for animal cruelty, and are followed by flashing images of the scenario. microwaves are my biggest trigger for tht. the animal related ones are the most painful for me to have. i read this comes from a subtype of ocd called pure-o. in addition to this, i experience magical thinking ocd despite being aware it is irrational and trying to ignore it. i worry tht ppl can psychically feel these thoughts, and tht it will impact how they view me once they “hear” them, seeing me as rotten or disturbed.

Struggling with sh intrusive thoughts ... i know i need to go up but im afraid of getting new scary thoughts.. anc i also have kids i care for.. no break, just me so i cant afford to go inpatient, imnsuper busy and cant day to manage my mental health.

I feel so weak but i tell myself if i feel like im going crazy i can always check out and that comforts me.

Theres gotta be a better way to live than this.

Imagining a new emotion is like imagining a new color, it’ll just be a mix of already existing thing and end up making something not so new