Symptoms of OCD: Understanding How It Differs From Other Forms of Anxiety

OCD is a mental health condition that reduces a person's quality of life. It involves obsessions and compulsions and can be both mentally and physically exhausting. Obsessions are repeated thoughts, while compulsions are repetitive behaviors. Obsessions create distractions that result in disturbed sleep schedules or accidents. Compulsions also take up a lot of time to complete for someone to find a temporary sense of relief from their anxiety. Then, the process continues to repeat throughout the day.

OCD can make it seem daunting even to leave the house. It can impact every aspect of a person’s life, from school to work or even their social circle. Some people with OCD try to hide their obsessions and compulsions from others out of shame or guilt. However, this results in the symptoms becoming overwhelming to the point they explode or become a severe distraction for themselves and others. 

Not all obsessions and compulsions are a sign that someone has OCD. For someone to have OCD, their symptoms must be compulsive. This means that even if the person knows their symptoms have become excessive, they cannot stop or slow them down. 

People without OCD who have obsessions or compulsions spend less than an hour a day on them. Someone with OCD will spend at least an hour, but many times it continues for several hours. These obsessions and compulsions will also create significant concerns in their daily life.

The most prominent component of OCD is that people with this condition do not receive pleasure from their compulsions. While completing the compulsions provides them with a temporary sense of relief from anxiety symptoms, there are no positive feelings they receive from these actions. 

Symptoms of OCD will begin slowly and then worsen as time passes. With proper treatment, this can be addressed and even help a situation improve. Treatment helps teach people to manage their symptoms so they can have less interference and stress in their day-to-day lives. 

Someone with this disorder may also have other mental health disorders in addition to their OCD, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or anxiety. Often, someone with OCD will avoid certain situations that trigger their symptoms. In contrast, others will turn to substances or alcohol to cope. This can lead to OCD co-occurring with substance use disorders. Treatment is often required for both to prevent further complications. 

OCD is only diagnosed by a healthcare provider after reviewing your symptoms and medical history and ruling out other potential conditions. They will compare this information to the criteria for OCD outlined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-V). 

The criteria outlined in the DSM-V require someone to have obsessions, compulsions, or both, and these symptoms take up more than 1 hour every day. These symptoms must also create distress and impact a person's ability to participate in different areas of their life, like work and social activities. Neither substance use nor other mental health disorders can explain a person's OCD symptoms for them to be officially diagnosed with the condition. 

There are some ways to know if you might need help for symptoms of OCD. One example includes being unable to persuade them to stop or lessen their behaviors. You may have recognized that your symptoms have become overwhelming to the point they impact your life. You have tried to stop them, but they have become out of control no matter what you try. 

Another indicator that treatment should be in your future is how much of your time is taken up by your obsessions or compulsions. If it’s regularly taking up hours of your time, even just keeping your attention for hours on end, then it might be an indication that treatment for OCD is necessary. 

More importantly, if, despite accomplishing your compulsions, your anxiety and obsessions are not relieved, treatment might be necessary. Treatment for OCD provides you with the skills and tools required to manage your symptoms and allow you to find relief from your worries. 

Receiving treatment for OCD sets you free from the feeling of control the condition has on your life. You will interact with welcoming and compassionate professionals who will steer you through your recovery journey and lead you to a healthier and less anxious life. This will free up your time for what matters most to you. 

At SUN Behavioral Health Kentucky, we solve unmet needs in Erlanger. Sometimes, OCD symptoms can create a moment of crisis for someone if their obsessions include thoughts of harm towards others or themselves. Our 24/7 crisis care is available no matter when to help provide stabilization and preventative care. You do not have to call us before. Just come to the facility. For more information about OCD or our crisis care services, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at 859-429-5188.

How do you tell the difference between anxiety and OCD?

OCD is a type of anxiety disorder. For most people, generalized anxiety will not include compulsions or behaviors that the person feels like they need to do to reduce their anxious thoughts or to prevent fears from coming true. However, this is true for people with OCD.

What are ways to manage OCD symptoms?

Treatment is the ultimate way to manage OCD symptoms. It provides tools through psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of both that will allow someone to regain control of their symptoms so they don't impact their daily life. Psychotherapy will teach someone specific techniques that they can use when they notice symptoms beginning to start. These techniques include finding healthy outlets and learning different stress management methods such as medication, visualization, and deep breathing. Practicing these skills helps make it easier to prevent symptoms from worsening.