Why Do So Many With Ptsd Also Have Ocd?

[Powder]

My first cousin has an OCD diagnosis and is on the same meds I am. I have a PTSD diagnosis.

There are some differences, but do you think that there could be a genetic predisposition for PTSD and OCD being similar structures of the brain/body?

Is there overlap between OCD and PTSD?

 

[Upside Down Eagle]

For me, PTSD means a transgression of boundaries of sorts, a consequence of a situation in which you had no control. Wanting to control small things (at least for me) is very much linked to having had no control previously, and trying to change that.

Edit: I realize that wanting to control things is not always a sign of OCD, but I did lean heavily towards OCD in the sense of repeated, compulsive actions. However for me it was always related to a feeling of having lost control previously.

 

[Friday]

- A person with OCD may well have a compulsion to check the door is locked 5 times.
- A person with PTSD may well have a compulsion to check the door is locked 5 times.

Both actions provide comfort once done, anxiety if not done, and worse can cause complete meltdowns if not "allowed" (or they try not to).

- OCD? That's caused by the disorder.
- PTSD? That's caused by real things having happened, hypervig, security issues, etc.

- With someone with OCD (oversimplified) "No one is going to break in. Nothing bad is going to happen if I don't check to make sure it's locked."
- PTSD? Telling them that??? ^^^^ Someone already HAS broken in!!! Bad things do happen! They've happened to me! Telling me they're not? f*ck you! ;)

Same symptom. Totally different cause. Totally different treatment / angle needed.

Many, if not most, people with PTSD exhibit OCD-Like symptoms. But they're not OCD. They're side effects of trauma.

Do people with OCD get PTSD? For sure. To the best of my knowledge PTSD can comorbid up with any other disorder in the DSMV (That's not true for all disorders, many have exclusions; like ADHD & Bipolar disorder can never exist in the same brain). I wouldn't be surprised to learn that there is a predisposition correlated amongst certain disorders & PTSD... But I don't know of any direct correlations at present. At least, as long as we exclude misdiagnosis (like PTSD often gets misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder, OCD, etc.) I do know the military has been looking for direct correlations and casual things (in order to not allow people to enlist who present a risk for developing PTSD, or later to be able to claim "not service connected" aka the VA won't help). But, again, to the best of my knowledge, while many people are looking for links, they haven't found anything solid.

 

[Powder]

Thing is OCD can be brought on by trauma, so I see it as one of the sequlae of trauma.

But there are some definite differences; I agree that her trauma is not as typical of PTSD. Her fears are not trauma-based. They are more random.

I do not know the extent of her trauma with her dad (my uncle) because we are not that close that I would ask. Plus, when you have PTSD, I don't think trauma history is the first thing I want to talk about with anyone, not mine, not theirs. Too much for me.

 

[dnp]

I think I had OCD as a child. I had to do everything in groups of 3's. The number of steps I took, the number of bites I took of my food, the number of kisses I gave my toys, all had to be divisible by three. Eventually I reasoned my way out of it, but there's no way to reason myself out of being traumatized because the fear and anxiety come from images, not words.

 

[Powder]

I've met several people who have PTSD and later find out they also have an OCD diagnosis, so yes, comorbid disorders.

PTSD has an obsessions component, and both are listed as anxiety disorders; however, I think I read that the DSM is going to put PTSD under a new category called Stress Disorders with trauma-induced, non-biological orgin disorders, such as DDNOS, DID, etc.

OCD can arise from a strep infection, trauma, and genetics. It seems anxiety disorders cluster in my paternal family tree, and Bipolar on my maternal side. I seem to fall under the anxiety side, but mother, sister, and grandparent are narcissist/bipolar or PTSD/Bipolar.

On the father's side, there is lots of PTSD/OCD in the family. Lots of military, hunting, and domestic violence as well. I am looking at patterns only, not causation or links between elements. Just trying to map out the genetic map of disorders that I inherited.

Also, I seem to be attracted to OCD people, and my spouse may have OCD. We're thinking maybe he needs to be diagnosed first before we assume anything. Also, I have some OCD traits, and am continually told they are PTSD only, but I tend to hide them from people, including therapists, so I don't know.

 

[Chava]

The connection is probably something along the anxiety spectrum...over-activation in the nervous system. But I don't see the disorders actually any more connected than PTSD and anorexia...just many of us have comorbid stuff. Our nervous systems seem to manifest their disorganization in different ways, but with PTSD the common thread is the trauma...and they symptoms can sometimes look like other disorders. Or there can just be other disorders.

I actually recoil from a colleague who seems OCD...she makes me anxious and she also rubs me the wrong way with how she needs to control everything...I'm a little hyper sensitive to that and want to just go into my little bubble and get away from that kind of stuff.

That all being said, I had some OCD behaviors when younger (not saying it was OCD, just some compulsive behaviors) that were probably related to anxiety and a need to shrink my world, cut out chatter and inner disorganization or whatever. Now I can focus intensively on stuff, but I'm really un-OCD.

 

[Ocean5]

I don't remember where I read it. Remember something about OCD being a kind of putting oneself into a meditative state....