Difference between OCD and GAD

[Cat Dancer]

How does one tell the difference between OCD and GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder)?

Can the two exist together?

 

[Cat Dancer]

I did some reading and I guess they can exist together.

 

[foghlaim]

Hi janet, same here, was just reading myself on anxiety disorders and from what i've read, it would appear that they can exist together... it also make sense that they can, given that they are both anxiety based . I presume the principle is the same for me, panic disorder and gad. again both anxiety based.
just my opinion tho..

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Certainly.

 

[stargazer]

How do they differ?

 

[David Baxter PhD]

GAD is basically elevated free-floating anxiety (i.e., not necessarily attached to any specific environmental events, although such events can elevate anxiety further). OCD is a specific anxiety-based syndrome consisting of repetitive intrusive obsessive thoughts and/or compulsive behaviors ("rituals").

 

[stargazer]

Thanks. I understand now. I was thinking of a friend of mine who seems both OCD and GAD, but I of course am no diagnostician. She's in therapy, but hasn't alluded to her diagnosis. I have another friend diagnosed OCD who doesn't strike me as particularly GAD. Your distinction clarifies things.

 

[Daniel E.]

OCD vs. GAD and How to Tell the Difference
July 10, 2019

...Finally, it is also worth noting that some more recently developed CBT techniques can be applied with equal value to both OCD and GAD. These newer techniques, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), are often described as Mindfulness Based CBT, or “third wave” CBT. These approaches are grounded on the premise that unpleasant thoughts and feelings are a normal part of the human experience, and that trying to control them actually makes them worse. This “third wave” approach focuses instead on accepting the presence of unwanted thoughts and feelings, without making an effort to reduce or eliminate them.