Hi! Does anyone here have a combination of these going on? I'm curious about your experience. As I learn about myself and my OCD, I'm also discovering that I've struggled with executive function for a long time. And I want to look at this now. Curious about your experience. Have a good Monday!
I have OCD, ADD, GAD, PTSD, depression, and social anxiety.
That's a lot of items from the buffet! What came up for you first?
@Jesse M. GAD and social anxiety probably. My mom figured it out since she’s a therapist and she noticed mental illness signs when I was around 3 years old. You Arne born with PTSD but I got that when I was 8-9 years old.
@Nica Aren’t*
@Nica It's cool that you had someone who tried to help from an early age. Does ADD interact with OCD for you?
@Jesse M. They all interface with one another but they don’t interfere with my life at all since I’ve been recovered for 3 years.
I have OCD and ADHD
Which one came up first for you?
I am autistic and have adhd and ocd. Sometimes it’s really hard to tell where one of them ends and the others begin; obsessions, anxiety, restlessness, nervous tics, difficulty with change and uncertainty, sensory issues, perfectionism, difficulty focusing and finishing tasks, bouts of hyperfocus, and withdrawing from social situations are all things that kinda blur those borders. It’s a fun cocktail!
@mothmanda ^also difficulty making decisions
Thank you! How did your journey with these traits and disorders begin? Where are you now? All the things you listed resonate deeply for me. Thanks for being available!
@Jesse M. Oh you’re so welcome! I’m happy to meet someone who has similar experiences. When I was little my parents noticed some interesting behaviors in me: I didn’t want to play with other kids, my focus was all over the place, I had bad anxiety and sleep issues, I was very sensitive to noises/textures/smells/bright lights, and I’d only ever want to talk about Ancient Egypt. They took me to a doctor who diagnosed me with autism and adhd. I struggled a lot socially growing up—I still do, and it’s led to some depression and anxiety, but it’s gotten a little easier over time. On the other hand, paying attention, staying on task and organizing myself has only gotten harder as I’ve gotten older. I’ve always needed very specific explanations of things in order to understand what’s expected of me, and when people aren’t super honest and direct with me it makes me very nervous. I actually feel like a lot of my ocd has to do with the extra uncertainty that comes with being autistic— having trouble reading between the lines, and having people get mad at me then expect me to know what I did wrong. But… I wouldn’t know what I did wrong. So my imagination began filling in the blanks with all the horrible offensive things I could’ve done unknowingly to upset someone. Oftentimes it’s hard to read people’s emotions, so the possibility of me having gravely offended or hurt a person at any given moment and not knowing freaks me out. I am happiest when I’m able to move through the world as I naturally do and accept that uncertainty. While autism and adhd definitely make some aspects of my daily functioning more difficult, overall I don’t mind them, and I feel like they’re a part of what makes me me. I’m a musical composer and I think the differences in how I think really lend themselves to what I do, and cause me to observe the world through a lens that makes my life interesting. Maybe you can relate to some of this— regardless I hope this was helpful!
@mothmanda - This is beautiful and helpful :) Your post inspired me to write a little about my own experience in some of the areas you explored: I played alone a lot as a kid and have pretty much only wanted to ride bicycles and work on bicycles for the last 24 years. I didn't struggle much socially growing up, but I couldn't easily make friends either. The biggest thing two things I'm noticing in my past are: An inability to make decisions. Like I just will abstain instead of saying yes or no. Holding myself responsible for others' feelings. Like if someone is angry then I feel guilty, responsible, and afraid, rather than letting them feel what they feel, and holding my own feeling state as separate. As I learn about my emotions, having pretty much ignored them or suppressed them until this year, I'm having a pretty easy time picking up on others' feelings and offering compassion. This feels like great fortune. On the other hand, I still ignore my own feelings until they're screaming at me, which I think is a major source of the onset of my OCD earlier this year. As I've grown, making friends and engaging in community has become easier, and staying on-task, focused, and present has become harder.
@Jesse M. Thank you so much for sharing all of this Jesse. People don’t talk a lot about how abstaining from making decisions relates to autism/adhd. I think I figured pretty early on that my intuitive urges were weird and would be looked down on by others or lead to chaos if I was the one in control. What do you think it is that makes decisions hard for you? I think being heavily affected by other people’s emotions relates to autism too. Most of us feel empathy, but sometimes it’s more manual than automatic if that makes sense. When others are upset, I fear that beneath the surface I don’t care enough about their pain, so I force pain and extra responsibility onto myself. It’s kind of the same thing for positive emotions, affection, and having “fun” with peers—there’s a lot of acting involved, and a lot of studying others’ behaviors and worrying that I am fake. But it’s wonderful that your awareness of other people’s feelings gives you such a compassionate nature. I know ocd guilt can be a rather dark side effect to this kind of compassion though
Hi! I just discovered a couple of months ago that I have ADHD. I already had the diagnose for ocd and now I also have this diagnose, and I was really wondering how can you treat both? Because I think they fuel each other a lot, especially because I have Pure OCD so it’s mainly mental anxiety and compulsions. How do you treat both, does somebody have experience with this? Is there a good therapy for both of these? Thanks :)
Hi all, As of Monday, I received the diagnosis for Pure OCD during an ADHD evaluation. It came as a bit of a shock, despite knowing my grandpa had OCD (according to my parents and extended family, he passed away before I was born). I'm just a little lost on where to go from here. I'm trying to find a therapist who does both OCD and ADHD, but it's surprisingly hard. Do people typically have different therapists for their different needs? I've mentioned it to close friends and family, and when I've tried to discuss what I'm feeling, they said they do it too to a certain extent which is a little invalidating. Anyway, sorry for the ramble. Would anyone be able to give some advice/supportive words for a newly diagnosed college student? Thanks :)
so. oh lord. half my ocd symptoms could be autism. (not that im looking for a triple diagnosis including adhd, its just interesting to explore) this little ol rabbit hole started with my friend, who happens to be autistic and passionate about how their own condition works, when they started slowly easing the convo into an autism screening and by the time i realized what he was doing it was “oh my god ur kinda right i might be wrong for denying all this time that i could have autism” always thought my experience with texture/sensory as a toddler (and now) was ocd, because thats mainly what made adults call me ocd, more blatant ocd signs aside (such as touching things “just right”, ordering items etc) wondered why i was like that when theres not even a *direct* link between ocd and sensory issues (not the same as somatic ocd) thought i just happen to be an extremely sensitive person since i was born, now realizing that couldve been a sign of autism, along side many more “quirks” ive always had anyone with autism and ocd that can tell me what their experience is like? what about when u were children? especially if u snuck under the radar until u were older, my parents have said only a few times in the moment that i remind them of an autistic kid but dont think i have it
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