Does It sound like I have OCD?

Post Reply New Topic

I have officially been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, but I'm beginning to wonder if I have OCD too. I am curious about this because I have read that AS and OCD often go hand in hand with each other. I often have paranoid thoughts and feel extremely insecure.. Like if i'm walking behind someone on a sidewalk I will suddenly "just know" they think I'm following or stalking them and it causes me tons of anxiety... These thoughts will suddenly appear out of nowhere and terrorize my mind. Does this sound like OCD? Or something else?

Ehhh, it's really hard to tell based on that.

OCD, or obsessive-compulsive-disorder, is usually characterized by a.) having intrusive thoughts (weird/disturbing, spontaneous thoughts that you would never normally think) and/or b.) performing ritualistic actions to stave off anxiety (like checking the front door X amount of times to make sure it's locked, or washing your hands for a really long period of time, for example). But what makes OCD OCD is that these thoughts and actions significantly affect your day-to-day life and make it very difficult for you to do things.

In short, you're probably better off going to a doctor or therapist than asking people in a forum for a diagnosis.

I was never diagnosed with ASD, OCD or Schizoaffective disorder but I’m pretty sure I have all them.

A classic example of OCD is washing hands too much and checking things over and over again. I have had it very badly for as long as I can remember but have been improving this year.

Thinking people are out to get you could be something else.

No, that doesn't really sound like OCD.

OCD is what happens when you can't get a thought out of your mind, and this distresses you. Usually the thought is something that makes you anxious--for example, someone with OCD might be afraid that they have left their stove on (leading to checking it repeatedly); or they might be afraid that they have committed blasphemy (leading to repeated prayers for forgiveness). Some people with OCD are "pure-obsessional"--their OCD involves just the preoccupation with the unpleasant thought, without rituals to attempt to calm themselves. Most people with OCD know that they are not being logical, but it's hard to make your emotions listen to logic. OCD is an anxiety disorder that is a lot like an extreme version of superstition--"I know it's silly, but I can't take the risk, just in case." People without OCD get distressing thoughts, too, but they're able to dismiss them or just kind of let them happen without feeling anxious about them. Like, right now, I thought about stabbing my mother, and didn't experience any anxiety, because I know I'd never do that. If I had OCD, I might spend the day frightened that I am going to become a murderer somehow, no matter how illogical that might be considering what I know about myself.

What you're experiencing sounds like some kind of anxiety or hypervigilance. You're afraid that you're being stalked. You say you "just know" it--does that mean that you believe you're being stalked, or that you *feel like* you're being stalked? That is, can you think to yourself, "That doesn't make sense; I'm probably not being stalked," even though you feel stalked and feel afraid? If so, you are doing reality-checking and that is a good thing. It's really the anxiety that seems to be troubling you.

Whatever you do, don't let it stop you from going about your life. Anxiety only gets worse if you try to avoid it; it gets better when you refuse to avoid situations that you know will cause it. Start with the situations that cause only mild anxiety--you don't have to torture yourself. Re-teach yourself that you can walk down the street without having to constantly worry about stalkers around every corner. Slowly you'll learn how to deal with your anxiety.

If you have trouble, if you can't cope with this on your own, a counselor can help. But anxiety is something that everyone in the world feels and deals with; you may be experiencing something which is completely in the normal range, especially for people who are highly sensitive to their surroundings as autistics tend to be. That doesn't make it any more pleasant, but it does mean you're going to be just fine.