Since March 2026, I have had unwanted thoughts of myself doing inappropriate actions to other people. Sometimes I would imagine myself hitting people near me, and for a brief period of time I imagined myself putting forks in my relatives’ eyes. But most of those thoughts are of myself molesting or inappropriately touching other people.
Since I know that inappropriately touching other people is a criminal offence, I became very scared of being near strangers as I was worried I might touch them accidentally or intentionally. I also kept thinking to myself whether I had touched any strangers in the past and replaying past situations in my head to see if I did anything wrong in the situations.
I think I have this sudden fear because I am graduating from university next month and I thought if I don’t worry, I might molest someone, get arrested and lose my graduation opportunity and future job prospects. Over the past few months, I improved my control over those thoughts but I feel I need a discussion on them as I expected this problem to resolve sooner.
Hi @independentgoat9029. What you’re describing sounds really distressing, and I want you to know that reaching out to talk about it takes courage. You mentioned that you have had these thoughts since March 2026. Since then, have you had the chance to tell anyone or reach out to any professionals before?
Something that you might want to know is that the thoughts themselves are not a sign of who you are. The “checking” behaviour is making things worse. Replaying past situations to reassure yourself that you didn’t do anything wrong is a compulsion. It feels like it should help, but it actually reinforces the anxiety cycle. Sometimes/perhaps, our brain learns that the thought is a threat worth responding to, which makes the thoughts more persistent, not less.
As this has been going on for quite some time, I’d really encourage you not to wait this out hoping it resolves on its own. Given that it’s been a few months and you’re still struggling, speaking to a mental health professional, a psychologist or psychiatrist would be a meaningful next step.
If you ever feel like these feelings are too overwhelming for you to handle, you should consider talking to someone about it. Some places you can reach out to are National Mindline at 1771, SOS at 1767 or if there’s any imminent risk, please go to IMH emergency room.
I spoke about my issues to a counsellor before. I had three sessions with her. She provided me advice on how to deal with the thoughts. For example, she says I should observe my surroundings more consciously so I don’t bump into people accidentally. She also taught me to practice mindfulness, focusing on my body movements and allowing the thoughts to come and go.
I felt that following this advice was effective for most unwanted thoughts, but the thoughts of inappropriately touching other people were harder to resolve because of how indecent the act is. I was following the counsellor’s feedback and I believe it worked well in removing other types of unwanted thoughts.
The only issue I have right now is about the thoughts of inappropriate touching. Over the past few weeks, I had to accept that those thoughts can be distressing, but they don’t actually affect the people I thought I was touching. I observed that if I didn’t try to check or replay the situations I was in, I was able to control my behavior and emotions better. There were a few recent outbursts of distress however, which is why I made this post.
I intend to continue following the counsellor’s advice to control those thoughts, while looking for a mental health professional to discuss any mental health issues I might face.
It’s good to hear that you’ve already been working with a counsellor and that her advice has been genuinely helpful. The progress you’ve described such as recognising that not checking or replaying situations helps you manage better is actually a really meaningful insight, and it aligns well with how these kinds of thoughts are typically understood and treated. Given that you’re still having distressing outbursts and that this particular cluster of thoughts is proving more stubborn, it would be worth raising this specifically with a psychologist or psychiatrist. It sounds like you’re approaching this thoughtfully and with good self-awareness. Continuing with professional support is a solid plan.