Pure OCD diagnosis

[Guest Paul]

Hello,

Today i have joined the OCD-UK site to find out if i have Pure OCD (Intrusive thoughts). I have never been diagnosed by a doctor and i am too afraid to speak to a GP about this. A brief history of my OCD  is this.

1) when i was a pre-teen i thought that my mother was attracted to me. I would also wash my hands repeatedly if they got dirty.

2) I also had a facial tic and repeatedly did things until i felt reassured, such as tapping my left foot twice.

3) when i was a teenager i started getting intrusive thoughts concerning whether i was a Paedophile - These intrusive thoughts have pretty much dominated my life to the point were i would lock myself away from people. These thoughts terrified me and pretty much made me feel less than human. I have pretty much suffered from depression since i got these thoughts and i am currently taking Citalopram. I must make it clear that i am not attracted to children and the thoughts disturb me and scare me. I have noticed that sexually intrusive thoughts are linked to Pure OCD.

4) I have also suffered from anxiety and panic attacks from an early age.

Can anyone please give me their advice. Do you think i have Pure OCD. These intrusive thoughts started when i was about 17, i am now 37 and have never sought any advice for this. It has only been in the past year that i have heard of Pure OCD and started reading some of the literature on the subject. 

[Guest Sena]

This is not Pure O, you washed hands so you had compulsions, you should seek for help.

[Guest Paul]

how do you know this is not Pure O. the hand washing was only a minor thing when i was a kid. The main thing is the intrusive thoughts. By the way are qualified in any way when it comes to diagnosing people. 

[Guest Sena]

Pure o is subtype of ocd code F42.1

it means rituals Are performed in head, There's is no washing or foot tapping

Edited June 19, 2016 by Sena

[Guest Paul]

Such as.

[Torsa]

Hi Paul, this sounds very much like Pure-O to me. You have unwanted intrusive thoughts (paedophilia is a really common OCD theme), you have anxiety - both classic symptoms.

Pure-O is a misnomer really. Sufferers of Pure-O do have compulsions - they're just in our heads and invisible to others (and often ourselves). So one compulsion might be to avoid places where we fear our thoughts will be triggered, or to ruminate over any 'bad' thoughts, or to try to 'undo' a bad thought with a good one. These are all compulsions.

OCD can morph between different types. Some people might wash their hands as a compulsion, while others carry out a compulsion in their mind. Compulsions can get internalised. I think you'll read lots of experiences and stories on this forum similar to your own.

[Guest Paul]

Thank you Torsa.

I have recently read books by authors diagnosed with Pure OCD here in Great Britain.

Bryony Gordon -  "Mad Girl" - who stated that she had fears she had Aids, she also repeatedly washed her hands and as the years went by became fearful that she was a Paedophile who would harm her child. She has been diagnosed with Pure OCD.

Rose Bretécher - Another British author who has been diagnosed with Pure OCD. She also believed that she was a Paedophile. 

I think i have overstated the whole foot-tapping hand washing thing, this was very minimal when i was a child and i no longer do this. My main concern is the Intrusive thoughts, it seems to match up with what the above authors have gone through as well as the symptoms of Pure OCD. Does anybody know if you can get diagnosed by an NHS professional, and how to go about it.

[Lynz]

If I were you I wouldn't get too hung up on the "pure-OCD" label. It is not a medical term but rather a term that OCD sufferers themselves use to describe their OCD. 

"Pure-OCD" is exactly the same as "regular OCD", just that the majority of compulsions are mental rituals, but that doesn't mean that a sufferer couldn't also have an obsession that leads to physical compulsions during the course of their OCD.

It is clear to me from reading your post that you have OCD, and all "types" of OCD are treated exactly the same so it doesn't matter what you want to label it as.

I would definitely advise you go to your GP with information about what your obsessions and compulsions are and how they manifest, and ask to be referred for CBT (specifically CBT that goes into exposure and response prevention (ERP), as that is what is used to treat OCD). You can also ask for medication if you feel that would help. Meds aren't a cure in itself for OCD, only CBT can tackle the underlying causes of it, but they certainly help to address the anxiety and low mood that comes with OCD and can put you in a better place in order to get the most out of your CBT. The types of meds used for OCD are mainly SSRIs such as citalopram, sertraline etc.

[Ashley]

10 minutes ago, Paul said:

have recently read books by authors diagnosed with Pure OCD here in Great Britain.

I think this is one of my concerns, they were not diagnosed with Pure O at all, there is no such thing as Pure O.  Like Torsa mentions there is and always will be compulsions, which is why the term Pure O is wrong.

[Guest Paul]

Sorry about using the term Pure O. This is all really new to me and i am still learning. Thank you all for your advice, it is much appreciated.

[Ashley]

1 minute ago, lynz said:

just that the majority of compulsions are mental rituals

You are mainly right Lynz, but this is a common misconception.  If you think about it, even with Pure O the compulsions are always there.  I have often spoken about the fact people with this aspect of OCD have two compulsions, which are physical:

- Avoidance (I..e a specific physical act not to come into contact with people, places, objects).

- Reassurance (they seek reassurance online from Google, loved ones, other people, physical acts).

But also with Pure O if we think about, people are constantly checking (i.e. physical acts).  Checking if they are aroused, checking if they have hurt a loved one, checking google, checking with loved one etc).

 

[Ashley]

4 minutes ago, Paul said:

Sorry about using the term Pure O

No need at all Paul, it's not your fault that people don't understand the term and have deliberately chosen to use that term for the purpose of selling their own therapy services or books.  This is hopefully why we are here, to ensure people get the right advice.

What's important to remember is that you have OCD (I assume from what you describe), so like Lynz said, don't get too fixed on the terminology but focus on what comes next for you, i.e. what you can do to get better    CBT is the treatment of choice.

 

[Lynz]

41 minutes ago, Ashley said:

You are mainly right Lynz, but this is a common misconception.  If you think about it, even with Pure O the compulsions are always there.  I have often spoken about the fact people with this aspect of OCD have two compulsions, which are physical:

- Avoidance (I..e a specific physical act not to come into contact with people, places, objects).

- Reassurance (they seek reassurance online from Google, loved ones, other people, physical acts).

But also with Pure O if we think about, people are constantly checking (i.e. physical acts).  Checking if they are aroused, checking if they have hurt a loved one, checking google, checking with loved one etc).

 

Yes that was the main point I was trying to make in that the compulsions "seem" mental because the sufferers aren't "physically" doing things like washing hands or rearranging furniture etc.

I used to think of avoidance and reassurance seeking as mental rather than physical compulsions but now that I think about it you're right in labelling them as physical.

[Lynz]

45 minutes ago, Paul said:

Sorry about using the term Pure O. This is all really new to me and i am still learning. Thank you all for your advice, it is much appreciated.

No worries Paul! I used to use that term a lot to describe my OCD and get really hung up on it when I first suffered from it too, but I'm not saying that you shouldn't use the term at all. If it's helpful to you to describe your OCD in that way then that's ok. I was just making the point that really there's no such thing because all "types" of OCD are the same 

[Guest Paul]

Could anyone tell me if having this type of OCD has limited/stunted peoples lives. I think it has in mine regarding relationships. I feel like i have lived most of my life in fear and haven't achieved as much as other people who do not have a mental illness. Are peoples lives with OCD slower to get started. Having OCD must be seen as a disadvantage to have.

[Ashley]

1 hour ago, Paul said:

Could anyone tell me if having this type of OCD has limited/stunted peoples lives. I think it has in mine regarding relationships. I feel like i have lived most of my life in fear and haven't achieved as much as other people who do not have a mental illness. Are peoples lives with OCD slower to get started. Having OCD must be seen as a disadvantage to have.

Any form or type of OCD can impact on a person's life, again, don't get too fixated on 'type'. OCD can impact on anything from career to relationships, but here's the point. OCD can be treated, we can lead perfectly normal lives with OCD and by overcoming OCD.