Related Disorder

How This Disorder "Looks Like" OCD

How This Disorder is Different from OCD

Tic Disorders/

People with Tics/Tourette Syndrome and people with OCD both:

• Repeat physical behaviors like eye blinking, touching or tapping.
• Repeat vocal behaviors like clearing their throat. 

People with Tics or Tourette Syndrome:

• Do their tics because they have a sense of discomfort or need to feel “just right”.
• Respond better to habit reversal and to different medicines than people with OCD.

People with OCD:

• Do their repetitive behaviors in response to an obsession (thought or image).

People with Trichotillomania and people with OCD both:

• Do repetitive behaviors
• Do repetitive behaviors in response to feeling uncomfortable

People with Trichotillomania:

• Get a good feeling from pulling out their body hair; some use it to relieve stress.
• Respond better to habit reversal and to different medicines then people with OCD.
  
  

People with OCD:

• Repeat their behaviors to get away from bad feelings, like anxiety.

People with BDD:

• Have checking behaviors and obsessions that only focus on their body or the way they look
• Are very likely to seek cosmetic surgery

People with OCD:

• Do not usually have thoughts or behaviors that focus on the way they look.

People with OCPD and people with OCD both have problems with:

• Making excessive lists
• Perfectionism
• Hoarding

People with OCPD:

• Have problems finishing tasks because of their preoccupation with perfectionism.
• Don’t see a problem with their “symptoms”

People with OCD:

• Do not always have perfectionism problems
• Do not like their OCD “symptoms”

People with Asperger’s Disorder or Autism and people with OCD both may have:

• “Stereotyped” behaviors like following rigid routines
• an “obsessive” interest in something

People with Asperger’s or Autism:

• Usually have thoughts and behaviors that only focus on repeating things
• Don’t try to prevent their thoughts
• Have severe problems with social interactions

People with OCD:

• Usually have thoughts and behaviors that focus on contamination, violent/sexual themes, checking, etc.
• Try to stop their bad thoughts from happening

Impulse Control Disorders

(example: gambling, sexual activity, excessive shopping)

People with Impulse Control Disorders and people with OCD both may have:

• strong urges to repeat certain behaviors
• attention problems

People with Impulse Control Disorders:

• Repeat their behaviors as a way to increase good feelings like arousal or excitement.

People with OCD:

• Repeat their behaviors to get away from bad feelings, like anxiety.

Psychotic Disorders/

People with Psychotic Disorders/Schizophrenia and people with OCD both may have:

• Strange or bizarre thoughts
• Thoughts that include sexual, violent or religious themes

People with Psychotic Disorders/Schizophrenia:

• Have delusions.  Their thoughts aren’t based in reality, but the person believes the thoughts to be true.

People with OCD:

• Usually know that their obsessive thoughts don’t make sense, even if they respond to them as though they are “true.”
• Can stay in touch with reality in all other areas of their lives.