- Date posted
- 1y
Why?
I always wonder why I have OCD. It’s odd that I don’t have any trauma or family history (except for anxiety and depression) And im medically healthy. It confuses me.
I always wonder why I have OCD. It’s odd that I don’t have any trauma or family history (except for anxiety and depression) And im medically healthy. It confuses me.
You might have family members that have it but have never revealed it. I only knew because my mom told me my great grandmother had it.
I am reasonably healthy. I am the unicorn of the family that everyone else gets to reference on their medical history because I have narcolepsy type 2, lipedema, and now OCD. And yes, I am very confused because the rest of the family tree doesn't have any of those things.
I was told by a therapist that the reason my OCD started was a way to protect me from the pain of my mom dying. I was told that my brain was trying to protect me by distracting me with something else so I don’t acknowledge that maybe it actually hurt, but your brain doesn’t realize that the obsession it’s giving you as a distraction is worse than dealing with the pain of the original issue.
@Mitchell That’s so true. I feel like dissociation is a similar concept. It is a means of protecting you but sometimes it can freak someone out more than the original anxiety-inducing situation.
@Rumpelgoocher Your brain wants you to survive so it’ll do anything if it thinks it is protecting you
I run this through my head all the time. Why me? No one else in my family has it. I was raised by my grandparents and when I had to leave private school to go to public school I had to get all of my infant shots all at once before I could start. All in one day. I always wonder did that cause it? I got strep really bad once, did that cause it? Was it the trauma of being ripped away from my grandparents who had raised me for the first 11 years of my life to go live with my dad at 12? Was it going to church as a kid and learning stuff that contradicted what we were taught in a Jewish household? I will never know what it was. Maybe I was predisposed and just got unlucky? My brain even goes as far as thinking I was possessed or something from walking in a cemetery as a kid. I’m sorry I don’t know the answer for any of us. I ask this in therapy all the time and get told I’m seeking reassurance
Why do some people develop OCD?
So basically I didn’t know till my hocd started. But looking back at my life I had ocd since I was a kid. Like 6-7 years old. First time happening I remember that when I was doing stuff many times I had to say something like a little poem in my head to stop it. Then I had this thing were if I felt my left foot touch the floor 5 times I had to do the touch the floor with my right foot too. Then I had something I guess contamination??? Basically after washing my hands I had a sensation on my hand like I could still “feel” the germs and I had to wash them again. Then I started having thoughts of my family members getting hurt. I had intrusive thoughts about me hurting my dog. Then I had this obsession that a guy who used to be in my school is looking for me to beat me up. And how it’s this obsession about my sexuality even tho I never doubted or questioned it before. Is that possible??? Like can you be born with it? I’m pretty sure both my parents have it too. At least at some level. Take my father for example he had an obsession that he was going to die the moment he turned 30.
Hi everyone! I’m feeling better today. I had a really bad flare yesterday, my husband really helped me calm down and fall asleep. However, if you have health OCD I feel like you probably shouldn’t read this post unless you are in a good head space. I do not have health OCD. So, I’ve been dealing with a lot of symptoms and health issues that have led me to alot of doctors visits, I have several different doctors that specialize in specific things and now go to an internal medicine doctor. My doctor thinks I have an autoimmune disease, so I’m running alot of tests for several different autoimmune conditions. My OCD has been dormant for a while. I would still deal with it sometimes, but it was way easier to manage. I’m not medicated for OCD. However, I do use arthritis cream and was prescribed muscle relaxers, I have not yet taken the muscle relaxers. So I had a really bad OCD flare last night, specifically Relationship OCD. My husband has just seen parole and I’m super excited for him to come home, but my OCD was trying to convince me otherwise. I also have a new nephew that was born on the 22nd. So I am out of state and was watching my niece for my sister in law. A lot of exciting things happening at once. I’m assuming that triggered my OCD. But I’ve been swelling in my face and dealing with a little bit of body pain as well. Autoimmune diseases come in flares like OCD. I have done some research on autoimmune diseases so I can know what I need to do in order to keep it under control if that’s what I do get diagnosed with. I learned that some autoimmune diseases are linked to OCD, or can even cause OCD because of inflammation in the brain. & It gave me a glimmer of hope honestly. Could my OCD have started because of an autoimmune disease? Could I get better by treating it? My OCD didn’t kick start until I was about 19. I am now 23. I did have symptoms of OCD at 17 though, I went through a period of time where I was compulsively praying and in a cycle of intense anxiety. So I probably had it since I was 17, but I don’t know. My symptoms of autoimmune disease didn’t start until about a year ago, but it could’ve been longer. I couldn’t get rid of a UTI I had for MONTHS & didn’t know why. I had to see a urologist, I was 21 when I kept getting UTI’s. I had to get a procedure done, I had pus build up in my urethra that was almost completely blocking off my urethra. I do not know how the infection got that severe.. especially because I took antibiotic after antibiotic. I felt like I’d get better for a few days, then boom…UTI symptoms once again. So.. that could’ve been the start of autoimmune symptoms. With an autoimmune disease, your immune system is pretty trash. You don’t fight off infections or illness as easy as others. I remember how I’d get sick after everyone else in the house would get sick, but I’d get it so much worse and have the illness for much longer than everyone else. Surprisingly enough, I never got COVID. My whole family had it & I didn’t get it. Unless I did and just didn’t have symptoms. Anyways, I never thought I would say this.. but I hope I do have an autoimmune disease that caused OCD so that I can treat the autoimmune disease and keep my OCD dormant for as long as possible. I forgot what it was like to deal with OCD.. it was so bad lastnight, I remember feeling that type of anxiety and it’s the worst.. 💔 If you took the time to read, thank you! I seem like a charity case lol.. I never thought by 23 years old I’d be like this.
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