Those with OCD may have fears about who they might be or become, which may leave them vulnerable to developing the disorder. This study manipulated these feared self-perceptions using a virtual reality task in order to observe its effect on OCD symptoms in an undergraduate student population. Those led to fear themselves, relative to a control condition, reported significantly higher levels of feared self-perceptions, and demonstrated a greater number of intrusive thoughts related to harm and a greater urge to suppress these. We also found that younger adults, who are expected to have a more vulnerable self-concept, had more fears about their possible selves. Results support the need to target these aspects of the self in cognitive- behavioural therapies.