Has anyone else experienced sudden adult onset OCD without showing any signs of having the disorder in childhood? Also, where there was external stressor or trigger that caused it?

Yeah I've been doing ERP and talking with a specialist for a couple of months now. I can say I'm 99% certain I never had shown any symptoms before. I'd never experienced anxiety in my life and I've racked my brain for months trying to figure out if there were any examples of me having OCD before. In terms of the external stress exacerbating the onset, it came on very rapidly at a time where I was not stressed whatsoever. I was never a very stressed person in general before this, but I was at a very easy point in my life when it happened

@trnctkta It sounds like you’re obsessing over what caused all of this. The trouble is there probably isn’t one clear answer out there. And even if there was, it wouldn’t help you to know it. In fact, obsessing about the cause of all this is actually making your OCD worse. And part of your recovery will involve accepting the uncertainty of why this is happening, and instead learn to keep living your life regardless.

@pureolife Yeah, I 100% agree with you and I made a very conscious effort since starting ERP a few months back to not focus on the origins of my OCD. I guess the reason I came back to it today is because my therapist was at a loss for how severe and consistent my OCD has been since the onset and how nothing ive done to combat it has worked. He essentially told me he'd never dealt with someone who's had this severe OCD over such a long period that was non responsive and that we couldn't really figure out any major compulsions relating to my theme that were prolonging the issue. I guess that made me question the origin more since it seems so unexplainable and so unresponsive, if I could at least figure out what set it off I could work towards improving it, whether the cause is an underlying medical issue for example.

@trnctkta You may be doing more complex mental compulsions than you (or your therapist) realize. Do a quick google search for: “Steve Seay Common Obsessions & Mental Rituals” Heres the link but I’ve had trouble sharing it directly on here before for some reason: http://www.steveseay.com/pure-o-ocd-obsessions-mental-rituals/

@pureolife An excerpt: “Mental rituals are varied and include such activities as repeating certain words or phrases in one’s head, counting, reviewing/checking memories, intentionally thinking “positive thoughts” to counteract “negative thoughts”, pre-planning words before speaking, making mental lists of similarities between one’s own experience and others’ experiences, conducting online research to prove or disprove a fear, or repeating/restarting prayers due to distraction or worry that one’s prayers are not 100% genuine. For some individuals, mental rituals also include complex cognitions. Complex mental rituals often begin simply with one of the following statements or questions and then take on a life of their own: OCD Mental Rituals - “I would never do that…but what if I do?…I don’t want to…but what if I secretly do?” - “Why is this happening?” - “When will this stop?” - “I can’t live this way…” - “I need to know…” - “I’ll never be strong enough to face this…” - “I wouldn’t be having these thoughts if I didn’t secretly want this…” - “Maybe I need to act on these thoughts to finally be rid of them and feel closure…” - “It’s always going to be this way…” - “I can’t take the chance, because if I did…” - “If I could just figure this out, I would be able to move past it and it wouldn’t bother me anymore…”

@pureolife Also: if your mental illness seems like a truly unexplainable personality shift for you and your doctor, you may want to visit a neurologist just to ensure there isn’t something else going on. Head injuries, infections, migraines, etc can all contribute to odd symptoms in the brain.

@pureolife I really appreciate the time you've taken for this. I'm sure there are definitely some compulsions I do act out, I just don't feel the quantity of the thoughts I've had for the last while reflects the work I've been doing in terms of exposures and just getting on with it. I guess the neurologist sounds like a good idea, even if just to rule it out

Did you experience anxiety before developing OCD also?

@trnctkta I had noticeable depression before but not anxiety. I’ve been very resistant to treatment also but I clearly have compulsions keeping the ocd going.