Mild OCD bi-product of schizophrenia?

[Paranoid MisterE]

While i am here thought I would get your views on something.

Ever since I was young i would tie knots in my hair and then pull clumps of it out. I would do this even though i knew i was getting bald patches. I would still do it now in my adult life if i never shaved my head. I also have a habit of picking scratches etc to the point where they become infected, i still do this even though i know they might become poisoned.

Also since i was small i would become engrossed with toys and other things to the point of obsession. I would quickly get bored and move onto the next "fad"(as my mum puts it). This has also continued into my adult life from jobs/careers to cars to weights and so on. I research things extensively, its my next big plan then i forget about it just as quick and move onto the next thing.

Touch of OCD or just lost in life?

 

[Dollit]

I'm sub-OCD and my particular thing hasn't changed over the years. I'm still fixated on the same thing that I do over and over.

The hair pulling/scab scratching can be a form of self-harm but isn't always it can be just a stress response.

When you were younger how did your parents react to new hobbies, studies etc that required you to put effort in to succeed?

 

[Paranoid MisterE]

Thanks for the response Dollit.

I never thought about the hair pulling/scratching as a form of self harm.

My parents where generally quite supportive and encouraged me in anything that i turned to, the problem was myself, i would become disinterested very quickly and have walked away from everything i was ever good at - snooker, football, karate, even in my education i could have done better but never put in the effort.

 

[Dollit]

Do you feel that you could be a success at these things you do or do you think ultimately you'll fail. I ask this because I used to give up things after an initial almost obsessive period. Eventually I came to realise that with hobbies at least it was just that nothing really absorbed me and I just reached boredom quite quickly. Having taken up photography I have found the thing for me. I never want to stop taking photos, it's definitely the thing I've been looking for.

 

[Paranoid MisterE]

I always thought i would fail no matter what people told me, despite proving myself wrong a number of times i still think that way.

Im glad you have found a hobby that you love, i have just started working out again so i am hoping this will become my passion.

 

[Twylight]

I've always thought of OCD as a form of paranoia - in that our behavior is unreasonable

 

[Dollit]

I think OCD is a response to anxiety. I'm not sure how it could be a form of paranoia. Behaviour that is unreasonable isn't necessarily paranoia.

 

[sleeplessinuk]

Hi
I pick at scabs and stuff...I usually just pick skin from my hands all day especially if i'm irritated. It's a compulsion i think. I also have those fads you mentioned. I've done it all my life. I do it with music aswell where I listen to a certain type of music for a while and then get sick of it and listen to something completely different. I have been to college about 6 times to do something different each time. I know I was born to play music so now i'm in a band and I also want to act so i'm enrolling in a drama club. But i'm scared i'll get bored of them things and want to do something else like being a doctor or something lol

 

[Cal]

I get mild OCD, especially when i was younger i would have to wash my hands constantly after touching even things as benign as a doorhandle ( i once got so bothered in primary school by someone not washing his hands after using the toilet i told him he'd die from the germs), even now i have to use my fingertips to open a bin and wash my hands afterwards and i have to check the door's locked on regular occasions (even now while i'm typing i want to go and check), in regards to it being a bi-product of schizophrenia i don't know i don't think i have it i do hear voices and get occasional hallucinations and delusions though.

 

[watchinghour]

I have no idea if there exists a causal relationship between schitzophrenia and OCD, but I have been diagnosed with both conditions. In my particular case, OCD affects everything I do, including locking doors, windows, turning the cooker off, counting money, and brushing my teeth or having a shower. Everyday is a struggle to fight off the intense and invasive feeling that I have missed something and that I should repeat a particular activity again, just in case. I always remark to myself that I'm fortunate that I never got into substance abuse like alot of people my age did when I was in my teens, otherwise I'd be long dead by now. Instead I went the other way and became a bit of a health freak: which can (and has) come with its own set of problems when you have a tendency to be extremey obsessive, and which explains my strong aversion to antipsychotics: not exactly vitamin tablets are they?

At its worst, my OCD caused me to exercise for 11 hours straight. That's the only time my mental health situation brought me to tears. That and being dragged in by police and given a sedative against my will.

 

[Kos]

The hair pulling is a form of OCD called Trichtilliomania. I have had that since I was about 5.

 

[Greysunday]

The stranger on the train

I don't think the demons ever die, only sleep to be triggered by some life event. Rituals, compulsions and Bulimia are only ever muted briefly by CBT, medication or talking to the stranger on the train.

 

[Contramike]

Hello all,
As far as a casual relationship between OCD and Schizophrenia (I have also been diagnosed with both and dropped the Schizophrenia when I switched psychiatrists), there is a newer diagnosis of OCD that I'm studying called "Purely-Obsessive Obessive Compulsive Disorder", commonly reffered to as "Pure O", that may explain this diagnosis.
The Pure O sufferer experiences an incredible amount of anxious thoughts and emotions almost all the time, in most cases. This could lead the patient, who may already know, or be obsessing over the fact, that they have a mental illness to try and "Think" of a solution to their OCD. This almost always causes more and more anxiety, innner dialogue and intrusive thoughts, to the point where someone could easily think that they were schizophrenic. It happened to me.

As for information on Pure O OCD, I'm at a bit of a crossroads in my research about some terminology, but I'll give you the link to the site that I got started on.

*IMPORTANT*
Do not think that you can out-think OCD. This is what causes it. You cannot "Out-Logic" OCD. The more you fight, the more you sink. Talk to your supporters about it and don't ruminate over it like I did.

A good Paper about it. Very informative.
http://www.ocdonline.com/articlephillipson1.php

A basic definition.
http://www.ocdla.com/obsessionalOCD.html

Well, it's Wikipedia, but it's something...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purely_Obsessional_OCD

Check this out. Even if your not Pure O, it's a good guide as to how it all works.

Let me know if anyone finds anything helpful.

 

[MarcAntony]

My psychiatrist told me that OCD-like behaviors CAN be the result of bi-polar disorder or schizophrenia. It takes a specialist to be able to tell the difference, as they are often subtle.