OCD vs PARANOID SCHIZOPHRENIA

I have suffered with OCD for years. However, I also suffer with paranoia and the symptoms seem to match the criteria for paranoid schizophrenia except I DO NOT have visual or auditory delusions/hallucinations. Paranoia (and anxiety) is part of OCD because we are all obviously paranoid about our fears becoming a reality (resulting in compulsions to prevent this). It therefore seems to me that there is a fine line between OCD and paranoid schizophrenia and that the only difference is we do not have the visual and auditory delusions/hallucinations. Any thoughts on this?

elleirbag_

Date posted: 3d

I don’t think the line is as thin as your thoughts are leading you to believe. In order to be considered a paranoid schizophrenic the auditory/visual hallucinations must be present. It can probably feel like you’re walking a fine line between the two at times because it’s so debilitating, but that criteria is there for a reason because it’s a different part of your brain activated. I do agree that they are all “related” in a sense though and all affect your life in ways that make it hard to understand. OCD can make you feel like you’re walking in a reality that no one else sees. It can make you feel delusional, The good news is that there are people who do see and you aren’t alone.

Lil Magic

Date posted: 3d

I have bipolar with psychotic features. With OCD I have such paranoid thoughts and fears but I can think about them and check them and rationalize. When I’m in psychosis, it is fact. What ever I am afraid of is fact. There is no rationalizing. I’m not schizophrenic but the psychosis is very similar. OCD and psychosis have similarities. But are extremely different. Neither is necessarily more or less challenging overall. Just different.

nat35

Date posted: Yesterday

Thank you, this is interesting. I used to be able to rationalize my OCD fears but over the years, I feel as though I am losing that rationale and believe certain fears to be totally real. I have lost the ability to calm myself down and remember its not guaranteed, I am 100% convinced instead. It is worrying

Lil Magic

Date posted: 21h

@nat35 A part of that can be not fighting the anxiety. The more we feed the anxiety the more we believe it’s an actual danger. I’ve dealt with my OCD for about 20 years. I just started treatment a month or 2 ago. There are definitely periods where it feels like the obsessions can’t be argued. But, if you are able to think about arguing with it instead of just running with it. It’s probably your OCD. Weirdly, it’s like the OcD tries everything to make us believe we don’t have OCD and something more dangerous or scary is going on.

nat35

Date posted: 21h

@Lil Magic Its OCD as the contamination and checking compulsions are present, but losing rationale is what caused my concern. I think you are right: an unchecked, rooted anxiety can turn into a fixed belief over time. I do not fight the the obsessions, rather pander to them, because in my mind its better to be safe than sorry. I realise that is not a winning formula but it is where I am at the moment. Have you achieved any relief from therapy yet and is it the same therapy for both the OCD and BP?

Lil Magic

Date posted: 21h

@nat35 I have. I have a mix of types of OCD. My symmetry OCD has improved greatly. But, my scrupulosity OCD has been tough. But, making some progress. The bipolar is different. There isn’t always a trigger for bipolar. Just one day you wake up at 3 am and don’t need sleep and have a million “great” ideas that you have to make reality. A period later you wake up and can’t get out of bed for 16 hours. It can be triggered but not like the OcD. The OCD is like you see, hear, feel, or think of something that tells your mind there is a danger. So, the bipolar therapy is more about medicating, exercising and tracking mood swings. The ocd therapy for me (I don’t take meds for ocd bc I’ve had terrible experiences on so many anxiety meds) is talking about my past, finding root causes, and digging into what is behind my irrational fears. So similar but different.

nat35

Date posted: 10h

@Lil Magic This is really educational for me as I have not met someone with this combination before. I cannot imagine how you manage both or begin to imagine how exhausted you must be. The highs and lows of bipolar sound to me (as a lay person) similar to the energetic bursts a person gets on drugs like cocaine before the heavy crash. Were you affected by bipolar or OCD first and do you think one caused the other? You mentioned that bipolar symptoms are sometimes triggered: does low mood tend to be a trigger? As OCD loops affect mood, is being in an OCD loop also a trigger?

Lil Magic

Date posted: 10h

@nat35 The highs definitely are. Mania is like a drug. You feel so amazing and nothing can stop you. A lot of people with bipolar use drugs to chase that feeling. But I started with OCD symptoms around 4ish. And bipolar around 13. It definitely gets tough. But, I think k we all have a tough combination one way or another. Bipolar sucks but it could be worse for sure. Neither were caused really. My mom has both and unfortunately I got her specific genes. And yeah, both the bipolar and OCD tend to be in a way triggers for each other. Manic episodes make you think so it’s like the OCD has an all you can think buffet. When I’m depressed, I don’t have much energy so I’m not thinking kuch. But, my anxiety turns into guilt instead of fear. So, they both tangle into each other in a way.

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Share your thoughts so the Community can respond