- Date posted
- 5y
- Date posted
- 5y
OCD and GAD are two different things but it is possible to have both of them at the same time. OCD, even what is referred to as “pure O”, does have compulsions. You do not always have to have physical compulsions to have OCD; sometimes they can be more difficult to realize, but mental compulsions are still compulsions. Avoiding the things that trigger your obsessions is definitely a compulsion. What you described sounds more like OCD, but that’s not to say you don’t have GAD as well, or maybe you only have one of them — would be helpful to see a professional who can properly diagnose.
- Date posted
- 5y
Check out this link, it might provide a little more insight between GAD and OCD: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-difference-between-gad-and-ocd-1393010 Good luck :) ❤️
- Date posted
- 5y
Yeah I wish I could see a professional but I can’t sadly. I’m pretty sure I have ocd but I’m keeping my eyes open for other things because it’s possible I could have something else. Thank you for the advice though!!
- Date posted
- 5y
Thank you!!!!❤️
- Date posted
- 5y
essentially all anxiety is the same. usually, the thing youre scared of has a “logical” solution in the moment, and that ends up being your safety mechanism that keeps you having anxiety. with GAD, you could say the actual worrying was the compulsion. for example with panic disorder or agoraphobia, the compulsion is fleeing. the diagnoses are helpful in knowing where the root causes are, but again, all anxiety disorders and phobias have something in common; anxiety and safety mechanisms
- Date posted
- 5y
The way I look at it is that ocd is irrational based intrusive thoughts based in anxiety that make you do compulsions in order to control it. GAD is anxiety based on real life events being made irrational. Someone with GAD might be going through something hard and their anxiety makes them imagine the worst case scenarios as a way to protect themselves. It’s really all anxiety, but the specific diagnoses is there to help to find the right treatment. Especially with ocd, you need VERY specific treatment for it because if you get the wrong treatment, you’re at risk of making it even worse.
Related posts
- Date posted
- 22w
Hi, I’m new here!! I’m praying I don’t get judged for this. But, back in late May of 2022 ( literally right before I graduated high school), I added this one random girl from my school on Snapchat. She posted something about a graduation party , so I swiped up on her story basically saying how I can’t believe we’re almost graduated. She replied and we had a really short and simple conversation. The next day ( i believe) , we started talking a lot , and I just so happened to see her at the highschool when we were grabbing our graduation outfits and doing the rehearsal. When I saw her irl, I kinda got turned off ( I heard she was kinda crazy) , and on top of that , she was a little ugly irl. I remember seeing her Snapchat bio , and she was close friends with my female cousin ( a year younger than me) , who I happened to experiment sexually with when I was 10-11 years old. I remember going to work later that day and having sort of a lightbulb flick thought ( it wasn’t a good thought though) , what if my cousin told her about what happened when we were younger? So I started to kind of panic and immediately distanced myself from that girl. I also experimented sexually with one of my female friends when I was 10-11 , and from that day onwards, I’ve been pretty much living in paranoia and a little bit of guilt about someone finding out and my life being ruined . On top of that, It’s gotten worse to now sometimes I wonder if a girl I added off of quick add ( Snapchat) is underage even if they told me they were 18+ or had 18 and above in their bio, and I get so much guilt and anxiety about that. I even had a quick thought last February on what if I did something inappropriate with my younger cousin when I was 15-16 but I just can’t exactly remember when it happened , and it still eats me alive when I think about it, because I don’t know if it happened or not. I’m sorry for the long vent, I just wish I felt normal again. No matter how much I try to do things that old me used to do, life always feels “ off”. I always kept the top part about when I was younger a secret up until early (ish ) 2024, then I vented to one of my best friends and he told me that that’s a normal thing to do at a young age. Since then, I have told multiple friends and they all say they did similar stuff, but my brain just can’t accept that. Please help me, I quite literally overthink everything nowadays. 2021 was the last full year that I felt normal ( coincidentally, the best year of my life so far) . It’s not just about sexual related things either, sometimes I’ll wonder if I messed up something at work or hit a car while driving/hit someone and drove off. I just wanna live my life how I was supposed to live it after highschool ( carefree and happy) before whatever it is ( I think it’s ocd) hit me unexpectedly. Thanks to anyone who read this , I just needed to pour it out regardless of how negative I felt typing this, I hope someone can relate , because I feel so alone in my head at times.
- Date posted
- 20w
Im a 21 year old female in a straight relationship with the best guy a girl could ever ask for. About 2 months ago, I went to get coffee with a friend and as I dropped her off, I got a “weird” vibe from her and the look she gave me which lead to the thought of “should I kiss her”….Ive never had a thought like that before and I never have ever wanted to kiss another girl. I have also never had a desire to be with another girl (sexually or romantically). Now though, I have had one other experience of being with a different friend going to get lunch and it felt weird. Ever since then I have been on google non stop with hundreds of different searches, questioning if im lying to myself of my boyfriend, wondering about my past relationships even though Ive only dated boys, been attracted to boys, crushed on boys, etc… boy crazy! Reading on other forums has been a big thing too or doing quizzes. I believe its SO-OCD but im so scared that what if its not. I am in therapy and actually had two weeks of not even thinking about it or googling it until yesterday. I dont know what to do.
- Date posted
- 18w
Hello there. I’m new here and think I may have OCD I’ve struggled with anxiety my whole life. However, in my early teens, I started experiencing obsessive fears and engaging in compulsions because my brain convinced me that if I didn’t perform a certain action a specific number of times, it would “prove” that I wanted something terrible to happen. When I was 17, I began seeing a therapist and opened up to her about this. She diagnosed me with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and I accepted the diagnosis But last night, I became curious about whether people with GAD engage in compulsions and have specific fears, so I looked it up. I was shocked to learn that these are not typical characteristics of GAD Now, I would love to find a therapist who specializes in OCD so I can get a formal diagnosis and the appropriate treatment
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