How many of you have OCD as well as health anxiety?

[Leah88]

Just curious how many people out there have both like I do... I seemed to have inherited the two from my dad who also has both.

[MyNameIsTerry]

What are you classifying as HA? Do you mean you have a diagnosed Somatoform Disorder, for instance?

The reason I ask is that HA is not really a medical term, it's not in the diagnostic manuals. Sufferers use it and medical professionals probably use it as to keep to terms patients understand. But HA overlaps GAD, OCD, Somatoform Disorders in the WHO manual. The US manual is a little different but OCD fits in there still.

So, in OCD HA can be one of several "themes" or "flavours" as some call them. Just like there is no POCD, no HOCD, no Pure O, etc which are again terms purely used by sufferers as the manuals stick to the prevalence of obsessions, compulsions or both in assigning diagnostics.

I know there are people on the HA board who have said they have OCD. There are also some who talk on the OCD board as well as on hear. I've always found the latter are in the minority and their forms of HA focus more on mental issues e.g. schizophrenia, but there are some that also run the whole spectrum of HA worries too.

[Phuzella]

I've had symptoms of all of the anxiety disorders in my time. I think there's a large degree of overlap. Back in the day it was all classified as 'nerves'. :)

[unsure_about_this]

Before I had health anxiety, I had OCD, where I used to keep washing my hands before making a sandwich., used to take me 30 minutes before eating lunch.

[Leah88]

I realise health anxiety is not a medical term. Hyperchondriasis is though and that's what Dr's see health anxiety as ( not in a degrading sense ), that's just its medical name. Sever hyperchondriasis does fall into the GAD category. I am just curious to see how many people out there suffer health anxiety as a main theme for their OCD. My Psychiatrist believes nearly all people overly concerned about their health actually have unrecognised or undiagnosed OCD. Whether genetic or brought on my trauma.

---------- Post added at 20:59 ---------- Previous post was at 20:49 ----------

Also, I believe a lot of OCD sufferers fear schitzophrenia like I do because both run similar neural pathways. To be clear I'm not saying everyone who has OCD has or will develop schizophrenia in their lifetime but statistically speaking those who do develop it often had OCD As a precursor. Therefore I believe this is why we who have OCD fear the illness so much. The way someone with high cholesterol may fear a heart attack etc. it's all about risk factors.

[herbie73]

Hi there,

I have ocd, which has switched themes from germs, to harm, to ha, fear of my children getting Ill, blasphemous, loads of other themes as well.
I think they are part of the same illness for me , but I can't say for others, all I know is its a awful thing to have, it never seems to go away, its like a stuck record.

Sherry xx

[Magic]

I say the same as herbie. OCD wears me out. I have anxiety too.
I have never seen a psychiatrist, or had counselling which was offered to me.
I just keep on taking the tablets.

[pulisa]

I wonder how useful all these diagnostic labels are-at the end of the day it's all about relentless and unremitting distress for most of us.

[JosieLouise]

I have a lot of overlapping symptoms between Somatoform Disorder and OCD, but one does not exist without the other. Without health anxiety, I don't have compulsions. I also have GAD which I believe is probably a better 'umbrella' diagnosis for me.
It's a very complex topic without a solid answer.

[Phuzella]

Pulisa I agree. I personally don't think the different labels are useful. :)

[pulisa]

I know that psychiatrists earn their living from making these "diagnoses" but at the end of the day we are all in the same boat and treatment options are fairly limited and standard.

[Leah88]

Thanks for the replies, I agree that you can't have one without the other. The obsession component being the continual worry about the same illness until reassurance moves our brains onto the next theme. It is indeed very tiring. I feel sad for my dad who is almost 70 and has had the same brain tumour for 30 years.

[Ronan23]

I'm convinced HA is definitely related to OCD, as in its just a different manifestation of OCD. Us hypos constantly display signs of obsession like checking body signs (I remember I used to count my pulse convinced I was going to have a heart attack), googling symptoms for hours on end (compulsion), and other stuff. If we treat OCD, we can likely treat the HA too. I just don't know what meds will help me :(

[MyNameIsTerry]

I'm convinced HA is definitely related to OCD, as in its just a different manifestation of OCD. Us hypos constantly display signs of obsession like checking body signs (I remember I used to count my pulse convinced I was going to have a heart attack), googling symptoms for hours on end (compulsion), and other stuff. If we treat OCD, we can likely treat the HA too. I just don't know what meds will help me :(

HA is an umbrella term used by anxiety sufferers. OCD is but one of the actual anxiety disorders it covers under this non medical term.

It's quite plausible to have HA themes in your OCD, HIV/AIDS is a very common one, for instance.

So, why treat your HA when it's OCD? Remember, HA in OCD is just a "theme", it's not a disorder. This is why medical professionals don't even diagnose "themes", they only look at the patterns.

HA has always been related to OCD - because OCD has themes of HA within in AND sufferers misuse the HA label constantly just like OCD sufferers misuse terms like POCD, HOCD, known of which exist outside of places like forums.

---------- Post added at 06:21 ---------- Previous post was at 06:06 ----------


I realise health anxiety is not a medical term. Hyperchondriasis is though and that's what Dr's see health anxiety as ( not in a degrading sense ), that's just its medical name. Sever hyperchondriasis does fall into the GAD category. I am just curious to see how many people out there suffer health anxiety as a main theme for their OCD. My Psychiatrist believes nearly all people overly concerned about their health actually have unrecognised or undiagnosed OCD. Whether genetic or brought on my trauma.

---------- Post added at 20:59 ---------- Previous post was at 20:49 ----------

Also, I believe a lot of OCD sufferers fear schitzophrenia like I do because both run similar neural pathways. To be clear I'm not saying everyone who has OCD has or will develop schizophrenia in their lifetime but statistically speaking those who do develop it often had OCD As a precursor. Therefore I believe this is why we who have OCD fear the illness so much. The way someone with high cholesterol may fear a heart attack etc. it's all about risk factors.

I don't think they have got that far in understanding higher rates of OCD in schizophrenic patients. They don't understand it, and we have a higher ratio chance. That to me doesn't mean a risk factor in the sense of something like cholesterol as that is an established link whereas this is still out there waiting to be discovered. We have to be careful with these "we don't know but we think you are x times more likely to..." comments as they are often guesses. Just look at the issue with Diazepam linked to Dementia - they same the same BUT also state they can't find any link at this time. So, I agree with you that in someone with these types of fears, there will be a lack of objectivity due to the usual Cognitive Distortions we have in play. We can work on that.

Hyperchondriasis is only one of quite a few Somatoform Disorders. If some doctors are choosing to misuse the term as being HA, there is something wrong there because if you read the whole Somatoform Disorders group you will find they all have similarities making them forms of HA.

Severe Hyperchondriasis becomes GAD? Why? What has GAD got to do with the criteria for a Somatoform Disorder? They are totally different from a diagnostic viewpoint. GAD is "free floating" but Hyperchondriasis is specific to health. GAD does include this Fears that the patient or a relative will shortly become ill or have an accident are often expressed. But the Somatoform Disorder group is very specific in terms of behaviours. For instance, the Somatoforms will have the issues with not believing doctors and having constant reassurance tests. A GAD sufferer may not have that issue and it's not even mentioned as a GAD symptom.

I believe HA is a term that means what people want it to mean. Look at the HA articles on this forum, they don't match what doctors use. Sufferers use it in different ways to cover various disorders i.e. GAD, OCD and Somatoform Disorders. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is in the same sub category as Hyperchondriasis. It may also be that some of the other forms in the Somatoform Group are less prevalent than Hyperchondriasis hence why it has become biased in places like these forums? You get this with the Somatoform group as the introduction The main feature is repeated presentation of physical symptoms together with persistent requests for medical investigations, in spite of repeated negative findings and reassurances by doctors that the symptoms have no physical basis. If any physical disorders are present, they do not explain the nature and extent of the symptoms or the distress and preoccupation of the patient. In the section which contains Hyperchondriasis in the Somatoforms there is also this Marked depression and anxiety are often present, and may justify additional diagnoses. That might be where the extra diagnose comes in for some people like GAD, OCD, mood disorder, etc.

I think it is a very complicated issue between Somatoform's and OCD. Looking at the criterias some could fall into both so which do you go with? Do professionals look to see if other OCD behaviour are there and gravitate towards OCD? Do they diagnose both? To me, this is beyond the grasp of GP's so it's likely many are misdiagnosed. I'm not sure where the dividing like is at the moment and would be very interested to know. I remember one psychologist who specialises in OCD stating "OCD sufferers fear getting something, Somatoforms believe they have it".