What is OCD?

OCD is a con­di­tion marked by:

• Obses­sions: intru­sive, unwant­ed thoughts, images, or urges that cause dis­tress
• Com­pul­sions: repet­i­tive behav­iors or men­tal rit­u­als per­formed to reduce anx­i­ety or pre­vent a feared out­come

For exam­ple, some­one might obsess about germs and feel com­pelled to wash their hands repeat­ed­ly. Or they might fear harm­ing some­one and men­tal­ly replay their actions to “check” they didn’t do any­thing wrong.

In OCD, anx­i­ety is often linked to irra­tional or high­ly spe­cif­ic fears. Com­pul­sions may offer tem­po­rary relief but ulti­mate­ly rein­force the cycle over time.

What is gad generalized anxiety disorder

GAD is one of the most com­mon anx­i­ety dis­or­ders and is defined by:

• Exces­sive wor­ry about every­day mat­ters like health, finances, rela­tion­ships, work, safe­ty
• Dif­fi­cul­ty con­trol­ling the wor­ry, even when there’s no imme­di­ate threat
• Phys­i­cal symp­toms like fatigue, irri­tabil­i­ty, sleep prob­lems, and mus­cle ten­sion

Peo­ple with GAD often describe their thoughts as “what if” spi­rals. The wor­ry feels con­stant and shifts from one top­ic to anoth­er with­out relief. Unlike OCD, GAD does not involve com­pul­sions or rit­u­als.

How­ev­er, when anx­i­ety becomes chron­ic, intense, and dis­rupts dai­ly life, it may sig­nal an anx­i­ety dis­or­der. Com­mon types include:

• Gen­er­al­ized anx­i­ety dis­or­der (GAD)
• Social anx­i­ety dis­or­der
• Pan­ic dis­or­der
• Pho­bias
• Sep­a­ra­tion anx­i­ety

While each type has unique fea­tures, they all share per­sis­tent wor­ry and phys­i­cal symp­toms like rest­less­ness, mus­cle ten­sion, and dif­fi­cul­ty con­cen­trat­ing.

Can someone have both OCD and GAD?

Yes. It’s com­mon for indi­vid­u­als to meet cri­te­ria for both dis­or­ders. Many peo­ple with OCD also expe­ri­ence gen­er­al­ized anx­i­ety, and vice ver­sa. Even when they co-occur, they require dis­tinct treat­ment approach­es.

Accu­rate diag­no­sis is essen­tial. Mis­la­bel­ing OCD as “just anx­i­ety” can lead to inef­fec­tive treat­ment. For instance, reas­sur­ance-based CBT might help some­one with GAD by calm­ing their fears about health or finances. But in some­one with OCD, the same reas­sur­ance, like repeat­ed­ly telling them they didn’t harm any­one, can become a com­pul­sion itself. Instead of reduc­ing anx­i­ety, it rein­forces the need to seek reas­sur­ance again and again. While OCD symp­toms won’t com­plete­ly dis­ap­pear after treat­ment, symp­toms can be man­aged. 

How do I know which one I have?

Not always easy to dis­tin­guish, both OCD and GAD can involve wor­ry, doubt, and dis­tress. But these ques­tions might help clar­i­fy:

• Do your thoughts feel intru­sive, bizarre, or out of char­ac­ter?
• Do you per­form rit­u­als or men­tal acts to feel “safe” or “just right”?
• Is your wor­ry focused on real-life con­cerns, or does it cen­ter around unlike­ly or irra­tional fears?
• Do you feel like you “have to” do cer­tain things to pre­vent some­thing bad?

Therapists for OCD near me

If you’re unsure, com­plete a form by click­ing on the blue but­ton below and we can talk more about your symp­toms. As a ther­a­pist who spe­cial­izes in anx­i­ety and OCD, I can help. Dur­ing the con­sul­ta­tion, we will dis­cuss your symp­toms and how they are affect­ing you as well as strate­gies for change.

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