“One dead bedroom”: exploring the lived experience of sex and sexuality for women with self-reported obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study explored lived experiences of sexuality for women with self-reported obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), with a particular focus on the felt impact of OCD on their sexual identities, practices and relationships, and their experiences of help-seeking. One hundred and thirty-four women completed an online qualitative survey. One Skype interview was also undertaken at the request of a participant. We analysed the data using reflexive thematic analysis and developed four themes: ‘My distorted reality’; ‘OCD as sex killjoy’; ‘What is normal sex?’, and ‘I’m scared and you’re not helping’. The participants reported experiencing anxiety around their ‘true’ sexuality and distinguishing between authentic sexual thoughts and intrusive thoughts. They managed the anxiety associated with intrusive thoughts by avoiding sex as much as possible, or altogether. Women who talked about sex in therapy experienced judgements about their sexuality and sexist advice. The analysis locates the distress the women experienced within a patriarchal and heteronormative social context. We argue that dominate discourses around sex and gender have material and embodied consequences for the participants as they navigated their sexual identities and relationships.