- What is and what is not OCD?
- Is OCD curable?
- At what age does OCD begin?
- Is there a trigger for OCD? Can it be prevented?
- Are there differences in the symptoms of OCD experienced by boys and girls?
- How long do symptoms have to last for an OCD diagnosis?
- What is the treatment for OCD?
- What is the approximate time it takes for a person with OCD to experience a reduction in their symptoms during therapy?
- If you take medication and it works, do you need to take it for life?
- Do yoga, meditation, or other therapies work for OCD?
- Is OCD dangerous for the person who has it?
- How can we differentiate OCD from the symptoms of ASD?
- If a child with ASD has OCD, should we leave it alone or try to reduce or eliminate it?
- Is OCD associated with ADHD or bipolar disorder?
- How can I tell if my son or daughter has OCD?
- My daughter's hair is constantly breaking, which weakens it. She's even gone into the house up to 10 times to check that the gas was off. What can we do to stop her?
- How can we help our daughter with OCD to gain more self-confidence and reduce her anxiety?
- Why does a person with OCD generally have thoughts related to magic and religion?
- What should mothers do if they detect exaggerated symptoms in their children that cause suffering?
- Can people with pathological jealousy be treated with strategies similar to those used for people with OCD?
- I have an 11-year-old daughter who does a lot of things that seem like OCD. Is a diagnosis necessary? I'm afraid the label will overshadow the disorder itself, and that any behavior will be excused because she has OCD.
- I was diagnosed with OCD 20 years ago, I can't stop talking to myself (silently or in a low voice) and I get very distracted. Why might this be and what can I do?
- What can we, as a family, do if our adult daughter refuses help and has no interest in getting better?
- When my OCD drives the people around me crazy, what should they do?
- What is the difference between having tics and doing compulsions?
Is OCD associated with ADHD or bipolar disorder?
In childhood, we more frequently see OCD associated with ADHD in tic disorders, such as Tourette syndrome, a disorder that involves both vocal and motor tics for more than a year and is often associated with other psychiatric comorbidities in 60-80% of cases. The most specific and frequent comorbidity is ADHD, followed by OCD and ASD. Therefore, it is common to find children with tics, ADHD, and OCD in the context of a tic disorder like Tourette syndrome, especially around the age of 10-12 (the period of greatest tic exacerbation in chronic tic disorders or Tourette syndrome).
Regarding mood disorders, depression is the most common co-occurring condition with OCD (often as a consequence of the suffering caused by obsessions and the resulting impairment in daily functioning). Bipolar disorder can also occur, although less frequently than depression. In individuals with both OCD and bipolar disorder, proper management of medication is especially important, as the use of high doses of antidepressants (common in OCD) can increase the risk of manic decompensation in bipolar disorder (episodes of euphoria). It is essential to ensure adequate treatment with mood stabilizers (such as lithium or valproate) and to maximize the use of behavioral therapy to reduce the need for combining high doses of antidepressants.