Published on 12, July, 2020
I know a lot of people have spoken about this topic on here before but I really wanted to put a post out as it's something I'm figuring out at the moment.
I have known I was autistic for a few years now but I am starting to think more and more that I may have OCD as well. I have heard there are a lot of links between autism and OCD and lots of people have both. I just wondered if this was the case and if anyone could tell me any more about it and the links between the two? Would really help
I've got autism and OCD as well. It seems for many people they go hand in hand, which is a bit of a gift and a curse at times.
OCD is an anxiety disorder that causes intrusive thoughts, images, or urges. People with OCD may feel the need to repeat certain behaviors over and over again in order to reduce their anxiety.
For example, they may wash their hands repeatedly, check their locks multiple times, or avoid certain places or things. I've experienced both the challenges and the benefits of having autism and OCD. On the one hand, these conditions can make it difficult for me to function in everyday life. I can be socially awkward, I have difficulty concentrating, and I'm often anxious.
On the other hand, autism and OCD have also given me some unique strengths. I'm a very detail-oriented person, I'm good at following instructions, and I'm passionate about my interests. I've learned that it's important to accept myself for who I am. I'm not going to change my autism or OCD, but I can learn to manage these conditions and live a happy and fulfilling life.
I hope that my story will help others who are struggling with these conditions.
It's good so many of us experience the same things. It means we can help each other through challenging times.
I hope you're ok Billy and this will be of some use for you.
Well Billy, autism and OCD certainly sit side-by-side in my book; I was assessed with both conditions simultaneously. Also, I was assessed with another rather similar little 'gem' - Arithmomania. It's numbers all the way, I count repeatedly up to a hundred and back again to one. Comfort through repetition. Comfort through repetition....
Ben
I'm becoming convinced I might have OCD too. I'm ruminating an awful lot and convince myself that certain things about me are true (I'm a bad person etc) and I'm really fixated on it.
Billy87 I thought I would recommend some OCD books for you as well. I own and have read all of these and highly recommend them. You might find them useful, worth considering anyway.
Brain Lock by Jeffrey Schwartz. This is a really good one, very informative and explains what's happening in our brains and has useful tips for dealing with OCD.
You Are Not a Rock by Mark Freeman.
Freedom from OCD by Jonathan Grayson. This is my personal fave book about OCD, especially useful if you're just diagnosed and curious about it.
I hope these can be of some help for you.
Hi Billy. Yes there's definitely a link between autism and OCD. In fact autism is linked with many things including anxiety, I have this as well as OCD.
I'm autistic and have OCD and both together are not a great combination but OCD is definitely manageable so don't worry too much about it. When you find good coping methods it can really improve things for you.
BTW I love the hippo in your PFP. I like hippos :)
You are welcome!
Ok, monotropism is a theory derived from autistics about we use our attention. Autistic people are more likely to be monotropic which means we focus more intensely only a single or few attention tunnels which in turn results in everything outside of that attention tunnel almost seeming non existent. Due to the fact that we focus more intently on a few things (as opposed to polytropic people who can spread their attention across multiple channels at any time) we are more to experience repeating thoughts both about our interests and things that could be distressing (for example, intrusive thoughts in the context of OCD).
Does this make sense? If not monotropism is explained in more detail in the articles I have linked to.
Thank you Debbie, your thread is really helpful. It does seem very common to have both. I read somewhere that neuroscience research suggests that both can relate from imbalances or differences in the same part of the brain. Could make sense
Hi Ausome, thanks for the articles, I will have a read. I don't actually know what monotropic is
Hi Billy
There is definitely a link between being autistic and experiencing OCD which I think is partly because it is more common for us to be monotropic. I assume you know what monotropism is?
Here are some articles about the link:
https://www.autisticrealms.com/writing/categories/ocd
I hope this helps!
Welcome back Billy.
I hope life is treating you kindly.
Here's a link to a thread I started about this at one time - there wasn't a huge response but there may be some useful info in there for you.
https://community.autism.org.uk/f/adults-on-the-autistic-spectrum/29245/ocd-and-autism
By-the-way, I've not been diagnosed with this but it's always been obvious, from a child to adulthood, that I have it.