i think i have OCD, but my gf disagrees (rant?)

i’ve thought that i have OCD for about 2 years now, but i’ve had a lot of the symptoms for as long as i can remember (but i don’t really remember a lot of my childhood- i need to check w family to confirm). i’ve talked to my gf about it, and she thinks i just have GAD and am a hypochondriac. i definitely do have GAD, but the things i have obsessions and compulsions ab aren’t just health related (even tho a lot are), ill imagine that people are injured or dead if i don’t hear from them, i ruminate on childhood events and think about if i could have changed things, i blame myself for things that aren’t my fault, i check all of the locks in my house every night to make sure nobody can break in (even tho ik they’re locked), etc. my GAD more shows up in worrying about like worrying about an upcoming exam or about going into work, or that my friends/family/gf are/is mad at me. i know you guys can’t diagnose me, but the i can’t see a therapist on here until i am able to tell my current therapist that i need to see someone else. i just wanted to talk about it i guess, ive taken so many online quizzes and psych classes that i feel like i somewhat know what im talking about.

RaRaRa

Date posted: 30w

GAD and OCD are veeeery different from each other buddy! My recommendation is to make a difference list between the two disorders, OCD also comes with anxiety but both feel different and both are focussing on different scenarios and stress relief Also ocd is not just about your health, it's about people around you and how your brain react to them depending of the focus issue

idolent

Date posted: 30w

@RaRaRa i definitely do have anxiety focused on other peoples health! for example, the other day my gf was a lot hotter than i was and had a bit of a headache, but she said it was from singing too much and too loudly in the car. i started worrying that she was sick and so i said when we got home we needed to take her temp, but she didn’t want to. i kinda ruminated on it for awhile and came to the conclusion that if we didn’t take her temp she could go into sepsis that night because she has went into sepsis before and the fever could be the first symptom. i begged her for awhile to let me take it until eventually she did (she ended up being fine). this is just an example, a lot of the time i also need to check my family’s medical records when they come in to see if they align w/ what the doctors say, etc. but it definitely is usually more focused on my own health just because it comes up more often!

nae nae

Date posted: 30w

I'm diagnosed with GAD, too, but when I experienced my first big OCD episode, it was TOTALLY different than anything I'd ever gone through before. It wasn't "normal" anxiety. It felt nearly impossible to get relief unless I did what I now understand are compulsions. That's what led me to look into OCD and eventually get an official diagnosis from a psychiatrist. Do GAD and OCD share similarities? Yes, but you can also have both! I don't think it's that uncommon :) You know yourself better than anyone. If you think it's genuinely something you want to look into getting a diagnosis for, then I'd go for it! Wishing you the best 🤍

idolent

Date posted: 30w

@nae nae thank you! i definitely want to talk to my mom to see if i had any symptoms when i was younger, since the only thing i can remember is some repetitive behavior and a lot of severe anxiety. i’ve had a lot of misdiagnoses in the past, so im hoping to be able to find a reliable psychiatrist + therapist to tell me what i actually have LOL

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