Newsletter: Bipolar Disorder and OCD symptoms

Six characteristics of OCD

1. Overestimation of Risk- worry that things are much more dangerous than they are.

2. Excessive feelings of responsibility- worry you are responsible for something bad happening.

3. Controllability- feel out of control.

4. Over importance of thoughts-listen to anxious thoughts instead of seeing that they are a product of anxiety.

5. Intolerance of ambiguity- must know what is going on in order to stay calm.

6. Perfectionism- Everything has its place and must stay there.

 

People with bipolar disorder may share some of these characteristics. I certainly deal with 3, 4 and 5 regularly!

Do you have OCD symptoms during mood swings? Are they triggered by outside events?

Julie

PS:  OCD is an anxiety disorder that stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The Obsessive part is the worry- did I turn off the stove, is she going to call, did I hit a man while driving,  are things in order like they should be?  These obsessions are so uncomfortable, a person creates a compulsion in order to calm the thoughts such as checking the stove, going back to the place you thought you hit a man, checking the phone every few seconds and putting things in order such as the crayons in the picture.  OCD is treatable- mostly with behavioral therapy.

 

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OCD and Bipolar Disorder
Reader Question: Julie, have you heard of these bipolar symptoms?
OCD and Bipolar Disorder