#ocd info
what is an OCD theme?
when I first proposed the OCD project, I got a bunch of questions about what it means to have an “OCD theme”, so I thought I’d make a post to address this!
a theme is something for your OCD to be centred around. a person can have one theme, multiple themes, or no theme in particular. the dominant theme can also change over time.
if you have OCD, you won’t be diagnosed with “harm OCD” or “contamination OCD”, it’s just a way to group things for the purposes of understanding the disorder and recovery.
common themes include:
- harm
- contamination
- gender and sexuality
- religion
- morality
- persecution
- perfectionism
- pedophilia
- health
but there are many more! each theme has different challenges, but they can all be really hard to live with.
no matter your theme, the gold standard for treatment is ERP (exposure response prevention). once you’ve identified what your key fears are, this is a lot easier to do. an experienced therapist will have go-to ways to trigger you in a safe environment so that you can learn how to cope and process without resorting to the compulsions.
hope this helps!
OCD myth-busting
there is a lot of misinformation floating around when it comes to OCD. some of this has bits and pieces of truth, and some of it is outright lies.
remember that I’m just one person with OCD, and I don’t know everything! that being said, feel free to ask me about any more misinformation they’re not sure about.
myth: “we’re all a little bit OCD”
reality: uh no. you either have OCD or you don’t. OCD can come in many different forms, but that is not a spectrum that you are on if you don’t have the disorder at all.
myth: “all people with OCD are neat freaks / germaphobes / super organised”
reality: some people with OCD are very neat, and some people with OCD have a fear of contamination, but it is nowhere near all of us. even those of us with a fear of contamination can end up being “slobs”, as our OCD can get in between us and cleaning effectively.
myth: “exposure therapy is abusive”
reality: just like anything administered via an institution, there are individual therapists who do the wrong thing. however, exposure therapy is not inherently abusive. exposure therapy is the gold standard for treatment, and can allow many of us to reclaim our lives from OCD.
being exposed to a trigger in a safe environment is not the same as being exposed to a trigger for nefarious purposes!
myth: “OCD is temporary and/or can be cured”
reality: nope. OCD is for life. it can get better and worse throughout your lifetime, and impact you in different ways, but it can’t be cured. the goal of ERP and other OCD treatments is not for the OCD to “go away”, it’s to teach a person to be able to sit with their intrusive thoughts, and to lessen anxiety. it can get better, but it cannot be cured.
myth: “people with OCD aren’t neurodivergent”
false. people with OCD have always been included under the neurodivergent umbrella. OCD shows up on brain scans, and like was said earlier, is for life. that’s a neurodivergency!
myth: “people with OCD can’t use the term ‘hyperfixation’”
this one is a little contentious, but people with OCD do in fact experience hyperfixations. this is often driven by fear, but it’s is also often driven by a longing for comfort, and it’s still a hyperfixation.
myth: “all compulsions are visible / obvious”
some compulsions are visible. maybe even most compulsions are visible. but most of them aren’t obvious at all, especially if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
subtle compulsions include counting, checking, rumination, and compulsive Googling.
the end!
thanks for reading! like I said, feel free to ask questions or recommend another myth that needs busting — I can do a part two if need be!
OCD and autism
since it’s autism acceptance month, I thought I’d do an OCD Project post about the overlap between autism and OCD!
fast facts:
- 17% of autistic folk also have OCD
- autistic people are twice as likely as allistic to receive a late diagnosis of OCD
- people with OCD are four times more likely to receive a late diagnosis of autism than those without
overlapping symptoms:
- repetitive behaviours
- anxiety
- hoarding
- sensory issues
- executive dysfunction
- desire for routine
what do they look like together?this is a complicated question, because both OCD and autism can have a lot of different symptoms and presentations. but common issues include:
- increased chance of alexithymia, which you can read about here
- autistic people often get overwhelmed more easily than allistic people, which means we may also have a lower anxiety threshold before we turn to a compulsion
- over-relianceon stimming can turn stims into compulsions — because almost anything can become a compulsion
- high likelihood of thought spiralsandmeltdowns feeding into each other
- increased likelihood of communication challenges, making it harder for others to understand what they’re doing and why
in conclusion:autism and OCD can be hard to live with on their own, but together they cause unique challenges that need to be countered very carefully. despite a high comorbidity rate, it can be hard to be diagnosed with both due to similarities in external presentation.
