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

Figures & data

Box 1: Substantive survey questions

Please tell me about any ways in which (if any) having OCD has impacted on how you think and feel about sex. Please tell me how (if at all) having OCD has impacted on how you feel about yourself as a sexual person. Please tell me about how any obsessions and/or compulsions impact on your sexual experiences. Please tell how you think your experience of sex compares to someone who doesn’t have OCD (I’m interested in things like frequency of sex, using sex toys, contraception for birth control and/or STI protection). If you developed OCD symptoms early in life, please tell me about any impact (if any) this had on your developing sexuality and early sexual experiences. Please tell me about any impact (if any) OCD has had on your sexual partners and/or relationships. Please can you tell me about any impact (if any) OCD has had on your thoughts/feelings about your sexuality (sexual orientation/preference). Please tell me about any experiences of seeking help for OCD and sexual issues. This could be formal (therapy) or informal (chat rooms/forums). What advice would you give me, as a trainee counselling psychologist, to help me work more effectively with women whose OCD impacts on their experiences of sex and sexuality? Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience of sex and sexuality? Anything not covered by your answers to the previous questions?

Table 1. Participants’ self-reported demographic information.

Age	18–61 (mean 26 years)
Self-identified race/ethnicity	White	113
	Biracial	10
	White Jewish	4
	Black	2
	Arab	1
	Indian American	1
	Native American	1
	Puerto Rican	1
	Roma	1
Country of residence	US	75
	UK	31
	Canada	17
	Norway	3
	Germany	3
	France	1
	Australia	1
	New Zealand	1
	Brazil	1
	Not stated	1
Relationship status	In a relationship	86
	Single	47
	Not stated	1
Social class	Middle/professional class/white collar	95
	Working/lower class/blue collar	27
	Not stated	12
Disabled	Not disabled	107
	Disabled	26
	Not stated	1
Self-identified sexuality	Heterosexual/straight/”normal”	64
	Bisexual/pansexual	41
	Lesbian/gay/homosexual/queer	14
	Mostly straight/heteroflexible/romantic	3
	Asexual/ace/demi	6
	Unsure	2
	Other (e.g. ‘relaxed’, ‘sexual’)	4

Data availability statement

Permission was not sought from participants to share their data with third parties.