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OCD Can ptsd cause ocd

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Fadeaway

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I don't know if what I am experiencing is OCD or not, but they are definitely what I would call PTSD related compulsions.

I can look back in my past and see that I have had a tendency to lean towards these sort of behaviors, however it has just been the last year or so that I can say that if I feel anxious that I HAVE to do them. One of the more stand ones is tapping at my hair line above my right eyebrow. It has become so bad that it is creating bruises and is constantly sore.

The other is more irrational. I feel complused to get my mother who has been dead for years to pick me up. I feel panicked that I can't do that. I have dealt with this overwhelming desire since early childhood and I understand why and what the origins are. What I don't understand is why the intensity and panic inducing compulsion have developed recently.

It is becoming a serious problem that I don't know how to cope with. I can't see a therapist still because I am still waiting for my appeals hearing due to their paperwork error when I moved states.
 
I'm by no means a professional so this is just my educated guess here. I'm guessing that PTSD doesn't cause OCD, but if the conditions for OCD were there prior then OCD might become a coping mechanism, much like drugs and alcohol. The need for the OCD behaviors might therefore increase when you are feeling anxiety or stressed. Again, I'm just guessing.
 
I have some OCD tendencies that came with my PTSD. Mine manifest as not being able to stop an activity once I start it. I was told that the two conditions could be considered to be physically side-by-side to each other in the brain. So yes, there can at times be OCD activation along with PTSD.

It is confusing and scary. I hope your paperwork clears and you get the help you need soon.
 
It is becoming a serious problem that I don't know how to cope with.
I am by no means qualified, but I have read that CBT is used for OCD and also anxiety meds.

Would a CBT book help. If you have used one before, maybe re read from the perspective of your current OCD type issues.
 
I have OCD tendencies that I believe came as a result of my traumas and inability to control my environment. The healthier I have gotten the better that has gotten as well.
 
I suspect not... In no small part because after listing out the major symptoms of OCD the final differential is the same as for PTSD (I've bolded it, section D, as well as definition pt2)... That the obsessions or compulsions are not better explained by another disorder. It then goes on to list many, many, many examples of things which may share symptoms with OCD, but whose symptoms better fit another disorder. In this case? PTSD. I could be wrong, as PTSD is not specifically listed. But neither are many other disorder that clearly fall under the example umbrellas. Shrug. I could give you chapter and verse on ADHD, but OCD isn't my specialty.

My knee-jerk, however, is that Trauma is one of the few (possibly only) sections of psychology that deals with reality. Instead of a skewed perception of reality. We're not locking our doors 70 times because we think the neighborhood will be consumed by fire, flood, famine if we don't... But because we've had our doors broken down, before. Section 2 is pretty clear that these thoughts and behaviors are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or protect. PTSD obsessions and compulsions, meanwhile in my experience, are nearly always directly attributed to reality. If a Hypervigilent and somewhat paranoid one.

Again, just my thoughts, reading through the DSMV on it... And I may be wrong.
______________________

DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (300.3)

A. Presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both:

Obsessions are defined by (1) and (2):

1. Recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or impulses that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and unwanted, and that in most individuals cause marked anxiety or distress.

2.The individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, urges, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action (i.e., by performing a compulsion).

Compulsions are defined by (1) and (2):

1. Repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.

2.The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing anxiety or distress, or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent, or are clearly excessive.

Note: Young children may not be able to articulate the aims of these behaviors or mental acts.

B. The obsessions or compulsions are time-consuming (e.g., take more than 1 hour per day) or cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

C. The obsessive-compulsive symptoms are not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or another medical condition.

D. The disturbance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder (e.g., excessive worries, as in generalized anxiety disorder; preoccupation with appearance, as in body dysmorphic disorder; difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, as in hoarding disorder; hair pulling, as in trichotillomania [hair-pulling disorder]; skin picking, as in excoriation [skin-picking] disorder; stereotypies, as in stereotypic movement disorder; ritualized eating behavior, as in eating disorders; preoccupation with substances or gambling, as in substance-related and addictive disorders; preoccupation with having an illness, as in illness anxiety disorder; sexual urges or fantasies, as in paraphilic disorders; impulses, as in disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders; guilty ruminations, as in major depressive disorder; thought insertion or delusional preoccupations, as in schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders; or repetitive patterns of behavior, as in autism spectrum disorder).
 
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I think FridayJones presents the best clinical answer. I don't understand it properly but that is because I am trying to make it fit my own personal experience. The best way I can sum up my confusion is that I just do not see a solid connection between my OCD behavior and PTSD.

My struggle understanding the connection is further complicated by the recent improvement with my OCD. I am getting very aggressive antibiotic treatment for parasites. My OCD type symptoms have improved to the point where I can now write again without being locked into trying to write the same thing all day.

However, I am still unsure if what I try to write makes any sense (lol)
 
I'm thinking that it can cause some OCD tendencies at least that's what my therapist told me that it is what they are. For me before I start doing the dishes I have to sort them between bowls, big plates, small plates, silverware, glasses, stuff that isn't dishwasher safe, and then my kids cups, and bowls, and plates. I also have to sort out the laundry between shirts, socks, underwear, pants, towels, then my boys socks, shirts, and pants before I can even start folding anything. One of my triggers is not being in control so my therapist said that me having these OCD tendencies makes me feel like I'm in control even though they are just little things, and I have to have my closet organized a certain way or I get really anxious and have to fix it or I just keep thinking about it until I fix it. She gave me some tips to start to do things in contrary to the OCD tendencies and it only worked a little bit but I just find it more efficient and it helps me feel better so I have a hard time wanting to stop these OCD tendencies.
 
But because we've had our doors broken down,
Yes. I found that following my OCD behaviours helped me see triggers. If I locked the door 100 times, it meant doors triggered me. I get the correlation now and no longer have issues with doors. Took a while though.

I have a male friend who was scalded with boiling water in a pot on the stove when he was three. He has scars all down his legs. Any time it is brought up he firmly says 'I am over it, that was a long time ago. He is very OCD in the kitchen and drives his wife made because he always turns down pots in the kitchen when she is cooking giving her a long lecture about it 'being up too high'. 30 years later I notice and bring it to her awareness. 'Holy crap, how could I have missed that?' she said. Makes total sense. He fights with her when in the kitchen too. Only room in the house where he yells and screams. Co-incidence? I think not.

As you tap on your forehead above your eye what are you feeling? I used to rub my eyes so hard I was red for hours afterwards. I found that I was doing so because I didn't want to 'see' what was happening at the time. Now everytime I rub my eyes I look around to see what I don't want to see and it goes away.

What is around you? What happens if you stop tapping? Is the tapping distracting you from something? Where do you feel something else arise if you stop? CBT is great for OCD but I really suggest you keep in mind your trauma background when exploring it.
 
These OCD tendencies makes me feel like I'm in control even though they are just little things, and I have to have my closet organized a certain way or I get really anxious and have to fix it or I just keep thinking about it until I fix it. She gave me some tips to start to do things in contrary to the OCD tendencies and it only worked a little bit but I just find it more efficient and it helps me feel better so I have a hard time wanting to stop these OCD tendencies.

That's interesting. My husband had the same thing going on about his closet being organized a certain way and it also must be cleaned a certain way... and when we first met I did not know that, "messed it up" and made him unhappy.
I do know his therapist told him to "feel the fear and do it anyway". I am not sure if this applies to his closet and if I shut push him to organize it different. I don't know if he is really fearful of doing it different or what it is. He has to do certain things certain ways or he has to do them again until he did them "right".

When he cleans something and is interrupted, he has to start all over again or it does not feel right for him.- Sometimes I can convince him to stop but then he starts acting nervous and has to clean it again until it is done right.
 
I don't know if he is really fearful of doing it different or what it is. He has to do certain things certain ways or he has to do them again until he did them "right".

When he cleans something and is interrupted, he has to start all over again or it does not feel right for him.- Sometimes I can convince him to stop but then he starts acting nervous and has to clean it again until it is done right.

Oh wow, this has really struck a cord for me. It directly impacts the way I feel about my self, Am I good enough? I need to do this right to be ok with myself. And yes, I have to get it right, I can't stop until I do.

I think a lot of it comes down being so heavily criticized and put down as a child I could never do anything right but tried so hard to earn the words "good job" I guess this is my attempt to rectify that because my self worth is very much tied into my perception of "did I do it right, am I good enough to do it right?"
 
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