The Link Between Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Mental health is complex, and it can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint how and why you’re struggling. It’s possible to feel as though you’re experiencing one mental health disorder one day and another the next. This can be confusing, overwhelming, and even frightening. It’s why we recommend seeking an accurate diagnosis for anyone who may be struggling. A professional diagnosis can provide clarity and validation. Most importantly, it can set you on the path toward healing.
In cases where two mental health disorders have similar or overlapping symptoms, it can be especially confusing. If you’re confused about whether you’re experiencing an anxiety disorder or OCD, we’re here to help. While the two share many similarities, they also starkly differ in how they manifest and how they should be treated.
How Anxiety and OCD Are Defined
Understanding how mental health professionals define these disorders is the first step toward understanding how they differ. It’s also important to remember that mental health disorders aren’t defined by a single symptom or experience. In fact, public perceptions of mental health disorders often don’t reflect how these conditions actually manifest in the lives of real people. With that in mind, let’s look at how anxiety disorders and OCD are clinically defined:
Anxiety
An emotion defined by feelings of apprehension and tension in which a person anticipates impending misfortune, danger, or catastrophe.
Anxiety Disorders
Common mental health conditions that involve excess fear, tension, or apprehensiveness and interfere with a person’s daily functioning.
OCD
A pattern of intrusive thoughts and fears, known as obsessions, that lead a person to perform repetitive behaviors, known as compulsions.
Understanding these definitions will help you move beyond common misconceptions and provide a clearer picture of how these disorders overlap and differ.
The Similarities Between Anxiety Disorders and OCD
Most people understand that at the core of anxiety and OCD is excessive fear or worry. In either case, it’s not uncommon for sufferers to experience sweating, shaking, racing thoughts, and an urge to soothe the discomfort or avoid potential triggers. Both disorders may also cause intrusive thoughts and avoidant behaviors.
Originally, OCD was defined as an anxiety disorder. Now, it’s recognized as a distinct condition that is similar but separate from anxiety. That said, it is not uncommon for a person to experience both an anxiety disorder and OCD simultaneously. In fact, more than 75% of people diagnosed with OCD meet the criteria for a co-occurring anxiety disorder as well.
The Differences Between the Two
Despite some overlapping symptoms, anxiety and OCD are starkly different. For example, anxious thoughts are typically prompted by plausible, realistic concerns, while OCD thoughts are often intrusive and irrational. Sometimes, OCD may even cause thoughts and behaviors that are contrary to a person’s values.
Another example of the differences between anxiety and OCD is how sufferers soothe their uncomfortable symptoms. With anxiety, sufferers may try to avoid the distress by:
- Scrolling constantly on their phone
- Staying in bed and/or canceling plans
- Overeating or oversleeping
- Abusing alcohol or other substances
- Working nonstop to avoid anxious feelings or loneliness
With OCD, sufferers may try to neutralize their distress by:
- Repeatedly seeking confirmation that an intrusive thought isn’t true
- Replaying an interaction over and over again to verify they did not say or do something wrong.
- Avoiding a person, an object, or a situation because it triggers obsessive thoughts.
- Repeating a morning or bedtime ritual until it feels exactly right.
- Repeatedly checking their feelings, memories, or sensations to establish certainty.
Put simply, anxiety sufferers often seek comfort, while OCD sufferers often seek certainty. Both disorders cause continual reassurance, but with OCD that reassurance may become rule-bound or repetitive.
How One Disorder Can Contribute to Another
When a person has two mental health disorders or conditions at the same time, the experience is defined as co-occurring or comorbid disorders. In these cases, one issue may interact with the other and affect a person’s symptoms, treatments, and outcome.
If you have both OCD and an anxiety disorder, the resulting symptoms may intensify. You may even begin to exhibit avoidance and/or compulsive behaviors more frequently. Some people experiencing OCD and anxiety comorbidity describe feeling exhausted and desperate for relief. Fortunately, a mental health professional can prescribe effective treatment to treat the two disorders simultaneously.
At NPS, we treat clients in these kinds of scenarios with a range of healthy treatments, including:
- Exposure and response prevention therapy
- Relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga, and deep breathing exercises
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT
If you believe you may have a mental health disorder, it’s always wise to consult with a professional. This is especially true when you believe you may have co-occurring disorders.
Therapists
These are our therapists who are experienced in working with Anxiety, OCD.
