Is OCD an Anxiety Disorder?
By : Katherine Pica LCSW
Anxious thoughts and repetitive worries. Are these signs and symptoms of anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?
Trick question: Both of these are actually signs and symptoms of anxiety and OCD.
Everyone can experience anxiety at some point in their life. It’s a common emotion, just like happiness, sadness, or anger. Not everyone will experience obsessive-compulsive disorder.
While anxiety and OCD share some similarities, they also have some differences that separate the two disorders from one another.
Is OCD an Anxiety Disorder? Let’s find out!
What is OCD?
OCD stands for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental health disorder that consists of both obsessions and compulsions. Unwanted or intrusive thoughts can lead to people obsessing and wanting to act on their urges or compulsions as a way to try to reduce the anxiety they’re experiencing. The cause of OCD isn’t fully known, but biology, genetics, and learned behavior are all believed to be possible factors.
These are some of the most common symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder:
Excessive cleaning
Intrusive or unwanted thoughts or images
Preventative actions in order to reduce intrusive thoughts
Compulsions
Rumination
Repetitive actions and behaviors
Rituals
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a type of mental health condition that is known as worry, fear, or tension that can trigger stress in certain situations. A number of different factors, like physical or mental health issues, medication side effects, stressful life events, or past trauma, can cause anxiety.
These are some of the most common symptoms of anxiety:
Fatigue
Insomnia
Worried thoughts
Feeling on edge
Lack of concentration
Racing mind
Restlessness
The Differences
OCD is often thought of as a type of anxiety disorder, but due to all of the differences, the two are better thought to be related but not quite interchangeable.
Anxiety can be similar to OCD, but anxiety works differently within the body. These are some of the most common differences between anxiety and OCD.
Thoughts and Behaviors
The types of thoughts and behaviors differ between anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Someone with anxiety won’t feel the intense pull to perform a compulsion for their anxiety. Instead, they may have different ways of responding to certain stressors or triggers. With OCD, a specific action must be completed immediately for the person to feel relief from the anxiety or obsession they’re facing.
The Compulsions
Compulsions are one of the key differences between anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Compulsions are something that someone with OCD will perform when they’re struggling with an anxious, obsessive, or intrusive thought. People with anxiety don’t feel the need to perform compulsions. A lot of anxiety stems from worrying about past events or future events that haven’t even occurred yet.
The Length of Time
Anxiety will go away after some period of time. Typically, anxiety will go away once someone can cope in a healthy way. Plus, once someone deals with their anxiety, it’s usually done and over with.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is slightly different in the duration of anxiety. Someone with OCD will use compulsions to try to alleviate their stressors, which can stop the anxiety that they’re facing as soon as the ritual is completed. With OCD, the same anxiety will return over and over again. People will OCD often have endless cycles of obsessions and compulsions.
How to find treatment for OCD near me?
Whether you’re struggling with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or a combination of the two, we’re here to help. We can help you learn more about both conditions, and we can help you begin your therapeutic journey. When working with an OCD therapist it’s important to ask them how comfortable they are in treating OCD. DO they provided evidenced based methods to work with their OCD. It's important to ask do they feel like they've been successful with past clients with OCD. The answer should be absolutely in all of these questions. OCD is very treatable and your therapist should have experience and success in treating it. Here at Resilience Counseling we specialize in treating OCD and we treat OCD day and day out. We use evidence methods , exposure and response prevention, ERP that are proven to be effective for treating OCD. We have helped many like you overcome their struggles with OCD. We are confident that this form of therapy is proven and effective. We and we have helped so many overcome their OCD symptoms.
San Diego OCD therapy for OCD
There is so much freedom getting help for your OCD you do not have to struggle alone. If you are looking for help for your OCD we are here to help. Contact us today!
About the Author: Katherine Pica OCD Treatment - San Diego, CA
Katherine Pica, LCSW Owner and founder of Resilience counseling. Katherine brings years of experience with working with OCD. She supervises all the therapists at Resilience Counseling. She has been practicing since 2007 for over 17 years! Trained in ERP for OCD and EMDR for Trauma. Katherine brings years of experience working with OCD to you. We are available in San Diego, CA for in person therapy and all over California for video sessions.
OCD and Anxiety therapy near me in San Diego, CA
Disclaimer : The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional and or medical advice, diagnosis, and or treatment. It is important to always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a mental health and/or medical condition. Never disregard any professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Resilience Counseling website. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 or local emergency number immediately.
