Posting patterns

[AntsyVee]

Very true, many elements of OCD are just found in human beings and only become OCD when they reach the point of impacting on your life. GAD has it's tentacles into other disorders as you were saying about agoraphobia on another thread (I went through that for months too, retreating from the world and then finding it hard to escape a bubble that had shrunk further), it can be a symptom of GAD when it gets more severe.

In my case it was GAD from the breakdown and still is now but OCD came from a massive ramping up of anxiety due to a med. Like many people I can see some OCD traits throughout my past that never were a problem and this ramping up brought it all out and much more. I suddenly found myself with intrusive thoughts and needing to touch objects hundreds of times a day in multiples and walking on the bits on the pavement, checking all the road signs and number plates over & over, etc. It all traced back to starting the med. It took a few years to get rid of all the compulsions (the first 2 years were lost to a daily grind of it) and the only stuff left in there now are obsession based and because they are tied in with my GAD.

I know others on here who have suddenly found themselves with OCD issues due to a med.

That's interesting... For me, it was the opposite. I had much more OCD traits and rituals when I was a kid. I remember in kinder, I would have to walk five times in a circle on the living room floor before I picked up my backpack and I went to school or I would have bad luck that day. But I seemed to grow out of it as I got older. The anxiety remained though. Later on, when I got into middle school, depression entered into the mix, and it's been off and on with that ever since.

[AntsyVee]

I have definitely worried about a few things that I never even thought about until I saw them here. On the whole though, being here has been a positive for me. I usually gain far more wisdom than worries.

I think some demographics on HA would also be interesting. I've noticed that young adults with HA are at the stage of life where they are first going off to college or getting their first full time job, and I wonder if their circumstances affect their HA. They are away from home for an extended period for the first time, in an unfamiliar environment without their old friends and family members, experiencing greater workloads and stress than they had in high school, etc, and I wonder if this comes out as HA.

I've also seen the same thing and wondered this as well. I think HA really comes out as people get to new life stages, like college, becoming a parent or having grandkids.

[pulisa]

Life circumstances as well.Being responsible for others, being constantly reminded of it and not being in a position to be ill.

[Quinn1]

Life circumstances as well.Being responsible for others, being constantly reminded of it and not being in a position to be ill.

Being responsible for others and what life has dealt you,is so true.

[MyNameIsTerry]

That's interesting... For me, it was the opposite. I had much more OCD traits and rituals when I was a kid. I remember in kinder, I would have to walk five times in a circle on the living room floor before I picked up my backpack and I went to school or I would have bad luck that day. But I seemed to grow out of it as I got older. The anxiety remained though. Later on, when I got into middle school, depression entered into the mix, and it's been off and on with that ever since.

I can remember a few I did as a kid such as having to remove & replace pen tops over & over until "just right", always turning in a circle one way and not the other and switching light switches on & off. They all went though and it's interesting that it's said kids do this and grow out of it in most cases.

It's also interesting in that there are studies of kids who suffer strep throat and suddenly develop OCD symptoms and it goes once the condition is resolved. And the more recent complicated stuff about things like PANDAS, adult PANDAS and immunoinflammatory links to OCD.

[AntsyVee]

I can remember a few I did as a kid such as having to remove & replace pen tops over & over until "just right", always turning in a circle one way and not the other and switching light switches on & off. They all went though and it's interesting that it's said kids do this and grow out of it in most cases.

It's also interesting in that there are studies if kids who suffer strep throat or suddenly develop OCD symptoms and it goes once the condition is resolved. And the more recent complicated stuff about things like PANDAS, adult PANDAS and immunoinflammatory links to OCD.

Well, on my mother’s side, there is a long family history of mental illness, so personally I chalk mine up to genetics and a terrible childhood environment.

[Quinn1]

I can remember a few I did as a kid such as having to remove & replace pen tops over & over until "just right", always turning in a circle one way and not the other and switching light switches on & off. They all went though and it's interesting that it's said kids do this and grow out of it in most cases.

It's also interesting in that there are studies of kids who suffer strep throat and suddenly develop OCD symptoms and it goes once the condition is resolved. And the more recent complicated stuff about things like PANDAS, adult PANDAS and immunoinflammatory links to OCD.

That sounds like myself Terry,with a lot more added in the mix,unfortunately it carried through into adult life. I have had very extensive therapy and now am living a somewhat “normal” life.

[pulisa]

My daughter was diagnosed with OCD at the Maudsley and the link to strep throat had just been "discovered". This was over 15 years ago though. They were really keen for her to be another example.

[MyNameIsTerry]

My daughter was diagnosed with OCD at the Maudsley and the link to strep throat had just been "discovered". This was over 15 years ago though. They were really keen for her to be another example.

They sometimes forget what is exciting for them is excruciating for the patient.

[MyNameIsTerry]

That sounds like myself Terry,with a lot more added in the mix,unfortunately it carried through into adult life. I have had very extensive therapy and now am living a somewhat “normal” life.

Quinn, I found sometimes those things would appear in adult life but then disappear again anyway. It was only my relapse, years after the initial breakdown, that the OCD side exploded and without that severe spike of anxiety I doubt it would have ever developed much. Just like I never experienced mood swings or symptoms of depression...until I started on meds.

I'm glad you have found your way through it. Like you've said to others it's about putting in the hard yards, the professionals guide & support but in the end it always comes down to you doing the hard work.