"How Do I Know I'm Not Really Gay?"

I have a new theory: people always kill themselves because something is bothering them. That might not sound novel, but it is. When people are depressed they have thoughts that are painful. The thought, "I wish I were dead" is painful, particularly when it occurs over and over again.

One of the most fundamental [disturbing, intrusive thoughts] is a type in which an obsessive individual begins to have doubts about his or her own sexual identity. This is not the same as the ordinary doubts people sometimes have about themselves and eventually answer in their own minds. With obsessions, questions are constantly repeated in a sufferer's mind, and they refuse to quit. Those with obsessions recognize that these doubtful thoughts are not their own, and try to resist them. "Could I be gay?" is a common question they ask themselves . . "How Do I Know I'm Not Really Gay?"