Hi there! You are most certainly right about avoidance...let me try to give you an example...

I was once afraid that I was going to kill a certain person, let's call him Jim. :P So I ended up avoiding Jim all the time, and by doing so...I made myself believe that the only reason I wasn't killing him was because I was avoiding him.

But my therapist decided to do ERP (exposure response prevention). Basically, he made me go TOWARDS the fear, instead of avoiding it. We ended up inviting Jim to sit in on a couple of sessions...let me tell you, it was scary! But you know what I found out after being exposed to Jim again, and again, and again? That my thoughts of harming him were just thoughts...I wasn't going to kill him, and I never would have in the first place.

After being exposed to your fears a lot, the anxiety dwindles and you eventually realize that you were afraid for nothing.

However, you said you avoided certain tv shows, books, and films. Since those aren't directly related to your obsession, you probably don't have to sit down and force yourself to watch/read them. :P

Personally, I also found meditation helpful. I called it "exposure meditation". For as long as I could handle, I'd focus JUST on my obsessions...I'd allow myself to have whatever homicidal, suicidal, sexual obsessive thoughts came to mind, and after having them for about 20-ish minutes...they got boring! They were no longer scary, but just plain thoughts that meant nothing to me.

If you are seeing a therapist, you might want to mention ERP. If you ever want to chat, feel free to send me a message. Best of luck to you!