Do people with OCD have special interests?

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Do people with OCD and no autism have special interests or just OCD obsessions?

I have both OCD and AS. OCD has nothing to do with special interests, which are pleasurable. Nothing about OCD is pleasurable. The clinical meaning of "obsession", as in an OCD obsession, is a repetitive, intrusive thought that is ego-dystonic and causes great anxiety/guilt/personal anguish. The colloquial term of "obsession", which is what special interests fall under, just mean that a person is really fixated on some thing or some topic.

The media makes the special interests aspies have sound all bad and wrong. But aspies enjoy such interests, and there's nothing wrong with that. OCD obsessions however, are pure and simple torture and make everyday life a nightmare. OCD is a disease, people with it HATE their obsessions. Who would actually want to check their door 520 times to make its locked but their brain somehow doesn't get the message that is and then when they finally leave the anxiety is still there about it being unlocked and horrible things happening like people breaking in. I once had to live in a home with someone with OCD and it just wasn't bad for her but for the rest of us. We were often very late when were going somewhere because she wouldn't leave the bathroom doing her rituals. Every morning I'd be awakened to the sound of staff pounding on the bathroom door telling her she needed to get out. If it was her day to prepare a meal she'd take around two hours longer than anyone else and if you were the one cooking staff had to ban her from the kitchen because everything you did was wrong. It was just awful and I'm sorry to say my patience and sympathy for her were often nearly non-existant.

I have always been told my interests were OCD and then told it was AS. I wonder if my psychiatrist was wrong.

Exactly.

ASD can be similar to OCD.

When my mind focuses on something, then I have a desire to order said thing into a state of perfection.

My brain gets pleasure from ordering, and achieving greater perfection.

Even NTs have been known to have strong interests or hobbies they are strongly dedicated to.

This is a point and relevant. However, I would say there is a bit of a difference between something coming from a root of OCD and something coming from a root of ASD.

I have moderate to severe OCD [at times it has kept me from being able to leave the house, though right now I am doing VERY well with it and have been for some time] and I am als DX'd HFA.

I am able to now see the difference when behaviors come from either place though.
It may not be like this for everyone, but when something is rooted in OCD- I feel like the motivation is to seek relief and more often when it is rooted in me or the fact that I am autistic, the motivation is more to seek pleasure, just as you mentioned.

Though, that's my personal observation. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Everyone has one or many special interests. For most, it can be a common thing like History, Poetry, gardening, woodworking or Sports.


I think those people who collect and decorate their houses in a team's colours and logo probably have a special interest in that sport and team.

OP ? Have you taken a look at the symptoms associated with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder:

- Is preoccupied with details, rules, lists, order, organization, or schedules to the extent that the major point of the activity is lost
- Shows perfectionism that interferes with task completion (e.g., is unable to complete a project because his or her own overly strict standards are not met)
- Is excessively devoted to work and productivity to the exclusion of leisure activities and friendships (not accounted for by obvious economic necessity)
- Is overconscientious, scrupulous, and inflexible about matters of morality, ethics, or values (not accounted for by cultural or religious identification)
- Is unable to discard worn-out or worthless objects even when they have no sentimental value
- Is reluctant to delegate tasks or to work with others unless they submit to exactly his or her way of doing things
- Adopts a miserly spending style toward both self and others; money is viewed as something to be hoarded for future catastrophes
- Shows significant rigidity and stubbornness

This is quite different from OCD. And it could also explain special interests.

For me personally, I am fairly certain I would be diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder plus some Anxiety Disorder plus Sensory Processing Disorder (which is not a disorder described in DSM) plus Executive Functioning Disorder (which is not a disorder described in DSM) had I not been diagnosed with Aspergers.