OCD..how common is this with autism?

[Gracey]

I understand and have experienced all of what you described. ...it is an awful illness and as much as it wears me down I know it wears my family down too ...it is hard to share a world with others when they are sometimes the cause of your fears....germs ... etc.
I don't always trust the doctors either , but one thing she said that I am hanging on too is ...i was born with autism, but not OCD so I can get back to being me again hopefully,

It’s a double edged sword,

While I may sometimes worry over or fear for family... and blame them for bringing germs home with them from work


Having them there has me mindful of how it affects them.
This in turn tends to dampen compulsions.
Doesn’t get rid of them altogether but reduces intensity.

I went through a hoarding phase a couple of years ago.
Having things piled up around the house was affecting others.

I had to start thinking about their freedom around the house and their comfort to start to see or find rationale in what I was doing before I could go about changing my behaviour.

In that respect my family are a huge help and a blessing

 

[Gracey]

...so I can get back to being me again hopefully,

It might be an upgraded version of ‘you’
More able to deal with compulsions and rituals,
More in control and feeling like your old self

My warmest best wishes to you and I hope you’re rewarded for the work you put in

 

[Night Owl]

It might be an upgraded version of ‘you’
More able to deal with compulsions and rituals,
More in control and feeling like your old self

My warmest best wishes to you and I hope you’re rewarded for the work you put in

Thank you so much for your kind words and renewed hope. It's always good to know that you are not alone..especially when you feel you are going mad and everyone is looking at you in the...oh no here she goes again ..way!...
Praying we all get a grip on this and be stronger for having lived through it!

 

[Joshua the Writer]

I have OCD-like behaviors sometimes, but not enough to be diagnosed with OCD.

For example, if I see a door that's in my own home that is open and doesn't need to be, I always close it. I don't want any unwanted drafts/bugs/animals/people in the house. And this is only for doors leading to the outside, inside doors are safe.

 

[Mia]

Have used exposure therapy for other difficulties, walking in noisy places, listening to loud music, pushing myself to walk into crowds in malls. As long as I do so for a proscribed period of time, it seems to have less of an impact when I have to do something of that nature. The aftermath is not as debilitating as it has been in the past. So that instead of a week of avoidance it becomes a day or two of recovery as a result of previous exposure.

Have also used the idea of exposure with food, have an intolerance to peanuts. But I love them. So eating a few each day or every other day, had lessened it. Although if I stop eating a few peanuts per day it takes little time for the indigestion and gastric problems to follow. Eventually, I simply stopped eating them entirely.

Used the same idea when I trained my dog. She was as a puppy mill dog terrified of cars and the noise of traffic. So each day I walked her to the dog park along the nosiest road and bridge with the reward of the quiet dog park at the end. It took about three months for her to become accustomed to the noise of traffic. And she was less fearful as a result. She became more tolerant of the walk to and from the dog park, as I did.

 

[Night Owl]

Have used exposure therapy for other difficulties, walking in noisy places, listening to loud music, pushing myself to walk into crowds in malls. As long as I do so for a proscribed period of time, it seems to have less of an impact when I have to do something of that nature. The aftermath is not as debilitating as it has been in the past. So that instead of a week of avoidance it becomes a day or two of recovery as a result of previous exposure.

Have also used the idea of exposure with food, have an intolerance to peanuts. But I love them. So eating a few each day or every other day, had lessened it. Although if I stop eating a few peanuts per day it takes little time for the indigestion and gastric problems to follow. Eventually, I simply stopped eating them entirely.

Used the same idea when I trained my dog. She was as a puppy mill dog terrified of cars and the noise of traffic. So each day I walked her to the dog park along the nosiest road and bridge with the reward of the quiet dog park at the end. It took about three months for her to become accustomed to the noise of traffic. And she was less fearful as a result. She became more tolerant of the walk to and from the dog park, as I did.

That all makes such good sense!.
I think I have just used avoidance and masked my way through it all up to now ... but it has all caught up with me.
I have just been to therapy today and have my list of things I avoid doing in order of anxiety. .working my way through them seems so daunting! I hope it helps!

 

[Gracey]

Many things can seem daunting when at the very beginning,
and that’s perfectly okay

 

[JDShredds]

I can't speak to the exact statistical frequency (though I have heard Spectrum/OCD are highly co-morbid). I can speak to mood disorders in general being highly co-morbid with being on the spectrum, and it pretty much explains all of mine. I can also say my best friend highly suspects he is on the spectrum (I agree with him on that) and he's been diagnosed with OCD in the past. We both think it stems more from autistic traits than anything else.

So, in short, seems pretty common.

 

[Night Owl]

I can't speak to the exact statistical frequency (though I have heard Spectrum/OCD are highly co-morbid). I can speak to mood disorders in general being highly co-morbid with being on the spectrum, and it pretty much explains all of mine. I can also say my best friend highly suspects he is on the spectrum (I agree with him on that) and he's been diagnosed with OCD in the past. We both think it stems more from autistic traits than anything else.

So, in short, seems pretty common.

Thanks

I also think my OCD stems from autistic traits.
How has your friend dealt with his diagnosis. ..if you don't mind me asking ?

 

[Alis1998]

I don't have ocd, at least not that iknow of. I have never been tested. However... I do have some things that could be described as "ocd" but I don't think it is that, in fact I don't know alot about ocd. But I do experience a sort chaos/stress inside my head if I don't do certain things. But to say it fits ocd diagnoses criteria, no. I think it is rather my own little small rituals, like for example at work I always need to put the chairs straight and put the towels with the same color nippers and preferably the same kind of towels (we have black ones and white ones). I experience while doing this some kind of relieve. Or whenever I leave work or my house I always need to lock the door even when somebody is at home en just pull a bit harshly to check if it is really locked while I use two kinds of keys to lock each door.But is this ocd? I don't know and I don't think that if I have it (now) that it will effect me in any way then these "rituals" already do. I think this is just more a "tic" of mine, something that brings some peace. I think in general, that people with autism have "tics" more frequently then non autistic folk.

 

[JDShredds]

Thanks

I also think my OCD stems from autistic traits.
How has your friend dealt with his diagnosis. ..if you don't mind me asking ?

I'm not sure any specific coping mechanisms he used, but this was many years ago he was diagnosed, and he still deals with a lot of it on a daily basis. He recently had his first child (oof) so its been considerably worse lately, what with how much he feels the need to re-wash his hands, start simple tasks over if it didn't go perfectly as planned, etc.

 

[thickpeen]

in my experience some signs of sensory overload can be similar to ocd compulsions. when i'm on the computer or phone for too long i get this irrepressible urge to tap and click, and feel awful if i don't tap or click, like something bad will happen. i asked my psychiatrist about it and he said it sounded like a fit of ocd but since it was really only triggered by constant sensory stimulation and then overload it was more likely just a reaction to that overstimulation.