GAD or OCD?

Is it weird that I say “they move differently?”

I’ll be the first to tell you that I don’t think other OCD practitioners think of differentiating the two in this way but to me, OCD and GAD move differently. They behave differently. They look different over time….

GAD is chaotic. It often starts with a physiological experience of anxiety. Then worries take off and bounce all over the place, not staying on a single topic for very long. Worries are somewhat connected to everyday concerns: Money, relationships, safety, whether one remembered to send an email, etc. but they don’t stay on topic all that long. They bounce all over the place. I call it “magpie-ing” It goes after anything shiny at the moment. That doesn’t mean someone with GAD can’t have favorite topics but as its name suggests, it’s more general. They experience a high degree of physiological arousal and their brain will take on ANY topic to persistently worry/plan about to try to get relief.

OCD follows a clearer pattern and usually sticks to a few basic topics. OCD cycles can start in any of three major processes: With a sensation or other intrusive experience, a trigger in the environment, or the behavior of the client. Then it takes off in a self-perpetuating cycle where engaging in what the OCD says will be comforting to the suffer provides temporary relief but ultimately makes the cycle worse. Often OCD topics are less related to what is generally accepted as “reality” by non OCD suffers. The intensity is also often worse and folks with OCD can be genuinely concerned they’re “going crazy” or are psychotic. It’s often another level up in intensity from GAD, but not always.

So that’s my answer. Folks with OCD are going to be stuck in a cycle. Folks with GAD are often all over the place and their cycles are less predictable over time.