Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?

[shaunaxaconda]

Do any of you guys have o.c.d? I've always thought this was an aspie trait but sometimes wonder if social anxiety or introversion are linked to it and vice versa.

 

[Judge]

OCD isn't automatically comorbid to ASD. However in my case it is. I was formally diagnosed with OCD some years ago, along with clinical depression and social anxiety. (Before Dr. Asperger's research was formally recognized in the medical community.)

Up to discovering my own autism I just figured I was an introvert in a world filled with extroverts. NOW I know better. It all ties in to one critical conclusion for me.

 

[Arashi222]

Oh I have OCD NOS associated with Aspergers. So no it does not have to be co-morbid but it can be. Some AS people are very extroverted some are very introverted.

 

[buckyboy14]

I have a co-morbid diagnosis of Asperger's and extremely severe OCD, and OCD makes me miserable all day. I can't go a minute without compulsively wiggling my ears or winking or raising my eyebrows or saying things out loud. It's all my life consists of now...

 

[FlitterFlutter]

When I was diagnosed with Aspergers, she said I also had OCD. But the med I take for depression helps a great deal with my OCD symptoms.

 

[buckyboy14]

What annoys me more than possibly anything else in the world is when the term "OCD" is used in everyday conversations (e.g. "Oh, I'm so OCD about this"). These people have no idea about the strife and pure torture many of us go through because of the condition.

 

[rollerskate]

To my understanding there's a handful of psychiatric illnesses that go hand in hand with Aspergers and often are what Aspies are initially diagnosed with before Aspergers even comes into the picture. OCD is one of these. I've been diagnosed with quite a few already myself and it was those diagnoses that helped me to accept that I very well may be on the spectrum... The way I see it I can either carry a ton of individual diagnoses, which seems kind of crazy, or the one diagnosis of Aspergers with maybe a few individual others. My diagnosis BTW are mood disorder nos (used to be bipolar but I kicked up such a fuss about the medications making me non functional and worse off than I was without them that my pdoc dropped the diagnosis down to nos), OCD, anxiety disorder, ADHD, and what has simply been labeled "poor short term memory". I don't bother with meds unless in crisis because they mostly make things worse instead of better, with the exception of benzos like xanex but I can't get those prescribed by anyone any more because of their abuse potential so that's a no go also. I mostly rely on Valerian Root now which works but makes me very sleepy unfortunately.

 

[anja]

I definitely have o.c.d when it comes to cleanliness (different to being organised and tidy, I mean being clean of germs) and I wash my hands probably 20 times a day if not more... I have a real fear of contamination and also of getting sick. I am also an extreme introvert and also have anxiety ...

 

[Sev]

Yes, I would say that I have a very peculiar strand of OCD, but OCD nevertheless. Though, I'm not someone who will start social conflict if another person does something that doesn't sit well with my OCD (such as taking a particular seat I usually use - I have many other triggers as well as this), I will feel really uncomfortable if they do however.

 

[Berianireth]

I was originally diagnosed as just OCD as a toddler because I would count the number of times I had to rub my hands together when washing them. I insisted on reaching 60 repeats, and apparently this was pretty alarming. I also had an even number obsession and would throw wild fits whenever I was given anything that wasn't in multiples of two.
I wasn't diagnosed with Asperger's until my therapist realized that OCD wasn't sufficient to describe all of my idiosyncracies. I'm barely OCD now, so I guess it's good someone caught that. I still have some OCD habits though. I get "trapped" in very stereotyped behaviors. For example I will continuously repeat a way of doing something that I know will take an unacceptably long amount of time because I have a preference for it. I think this is considered a "classically autistic" trait, but I know there must be people with ASDs that don't have that problem.
Does anyone know if the OCD-like qualities are considered a coping strategy in ASDs? I think it's interesting that anti-anxiety medications are usually recommended.

 

[Atay]

For anyone suffering from OCD, I highly recommend researching high-dose inositol (Vitamin B8). It has some very interesting research, and changed my son's life. He began exhibiting OCD last September - and it was extreme. He had just started Kindergarten, and was completely obsessed with germs. The inositol only took a week to start reversing the obsessions and compulsions. Nowadays, we make sure he has his inositol, as if we miss a few days the obsessions and compulsions start to come back with a vengence. Interestingly, the inositol appears to also be slowly reversing some of his autistic features. He's still the same kid with the hyper-focus and strong sensitivities - he just appears to have an easier time with eye contact and socializing with other kids.

I've had OCD (counting, checking, magical-thinking) since age 5, and look forward to trying high-dose inositol as well. I can't right now because I'm breastfeeding, but it's on my list of things to do. Having studied the biochemistry behind it, it appears to be closely linked to hypoglycemia, serotonin, and oxytocin. Oxytocin is the hormone that is famously low in autistics, and is tied to facial recognition and other social communication skills. There's lots of research regarding the OXTR gene, and oxytocin levels.

Anyway, if you have OCD you might want to connect with a naturopath to see if he/she recommends giving it a shot. You can buy it on Amazon. Super Supplements, too - but don't go to GNC because it's WAY overprices.

 

[Marycv]

I was diagnosed with OCD. I wash my hands a lot.

 

[MicroWeiss]

Kind of, like I used to get in trouble for making small mistakes. Someone would seem angry because my work wasn't perfect, though it must be said it was much better than average, but naturally with criticism I got more and more perfect. Maybe I get more criticism because I talk to people just enough and then stay super quiet so they feel comfortable enough to try to change me!? Anyway, several times I was obsessing at work, about getting every freaking unimportant detail perfect, and my imbecile naive stupid manager would come along and tell me that I'd be faster if only I didn't waste so much time on details. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. I got the work done fast anyway. Oh well, he is paying for it now, he wants to get me hired on at his current company and I just don't have the motivation to go work under him again.

Sometimes I have disliked memorizing things. Like multiplication tables. I multiply everything from scratch every single time. I don't bother to remember which slot in the utensil drawer has which utensil, I just remember the order that the utensils are in, and count slot #1 knife, slot #2 fork, slot #3 spoon before I reach the for the desired utensil. If I had to reach for a utensil without counting it is doubtful that I would grab the right one.

Obviously there is a mental block going on. My memorization skills are normal for most things. I hadn't thought of OCD.

 

[Effy]

It's been tossed around and suggested I get an official diagnosis... I carry hand sanitizer, wash my hands excessively... my skin dries out so much from washing my hands. I have to wash them, though. If I can't wash them, I need hand sanitizer... My Tourette Syndrome doesn't help at all, as my tics have to be done multiple times, if I'm aware of them, in a particular pattern -- and if the pattern screws up, it has to be done again. I also have to check to make sure the door is closed multiple times -- oftentimes over 8 times -- and have a typing tic, as well as the need to turn off and on lights, fix things so they're perfectly in place, alphabetize certain lists, and much, much more.

It's such a nightmare, but it's become such a routine I can't picture myself without it.

 

[Judge]

I wish I didn't have it. I try to play it down, but it's always there. More so than ASD or clinical depression. I find myself fighting it a lot lately. I often feel stupid creating in my mind non-existent consequences for actions that are unimportant. As if I'm just looking for an excuse to punish myself. And constantly checking locked doors...and my car alarm. I hate it. It's not just a "nuisance", as I once posted.

 

[MicroWeiss]

I wish I didn't have it. I try to play it down, but it's always there. More so than ASD or clinical depression. I find myself fighting it a lot lately. I often feel stupid creating in my mind non-existent consequences for actions that are unimportant. As if I'm just looking for an excuse to punish myself. And constantly checking locked doors...and my car alarm. I hate it. It's not just a "nuisance", as I once posted.

Never feel stupid about it. It helps you or you wouldn't do it. At least you know all those doors are locked.

 

[Judge]

Never feel stupid about it. It helps you or you wouldn't do it. At least you know all those doors are locked.

I knew it was locked the first time I locked it. But it's compulsive for me to check...even though as I approach it I can SEE it's locked. It makes me feel "broken". The only upside is that it's not something people normally notice unless they are very close inside my orbit.

 

[MicroWeiss]

I knew it was locked the first time I locked it. But it's compulsive for me to check...even though as I approach it I can SEE it's locked. It makes me feel "broken". The only upside is that it's not something people normally notice unless they are very close inside my orbit.

Uhm.. well.. I mean.. I think 4 checks would be enough to be sure. How many times are you talking here? I've never felt bad about it, using my fingers to multiply very small numbers. At work I don't even look dumb because I use a calculator.

 

[oliviamorgenstern]

I have severe anxiety and OCD, but my psychiatrists refuses to give me the diagnose because of my autism. I actually didn't though you could be diagnosed with both?

 

[SignOfLazarus]

Never feel stupid about it. It helps you or you wouldn't do it. At least you know all those doors are locked.

Here's the problem with OCD, though- You don't ever really "know" that the doors are locked. Or that you didn't touch something contaminated, or that you didn't tell your boss to go f- their mother, or that you didn't run over a small child.

I mean... you know. You were there. You locked the door four times and sanitized everything yourself wearing gloves and were coherent for the entire conversation and wouldn't there be some kind of Mark on your car?

...but "what if" you are wrong? That "what if" is like someone walking the same steps in the grass over and over until it's a dirt hole and you can't help but but notice it digging into your brain. And also, add to that this feeling of responsibility and dread.

If you left the door unlocked, what then? If you touched something with blood on it? If you swore at your boss? If you ran over someone oh hell...

And you can check the locks, and pull gloves from the garbage or bleach your hands, or run over conversations in your mind and interrogate coworkers until you are a zombie from lack of sleep and people avoid you, return to the place where you may or may not have run over a toddler and use a high powered flashlight, take samples and try to analyze for human blood, scan newspapers for reporters of missing children or a hit and run.

It may help temporarily.
The problem is that your own brain is coming up with this crap, and what is better at knowing how best to torture you than your own imagination? Logic doesn't work- it's like trying to out smart yourself.

You know it doesn't make sense but you still feel that fear of "what if?"; for myself I eventually give in because the "what if?" fear is eventually completely overwhelming and takes over.