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Hi, I was diagnosed with OCD in July this year. I was also diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder, which made more sense to me. 

I think part of me still struggles to accept that I do have OCD, if that makes sense? I definitely have lots of safety behaviours and fears around contamination, but only related to COVID-19.

Is it still OCD when it is COVID- specific like this? Any thoughts would be much appreciated :)

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Hello @SeaBeeTea Diaries, welcome to the forums.

 

6 hours ago, SeaBeeTea Diaries said:

Hi, I was diagnosed with OCD in July this year. I was also diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder, which made more sense to me. 

Its not uncommon for people with one mental illness to be diagnosed with another. Unfortunately these sorts of things like to hang out together!  The good news is working on improving one usually helps the other.
 

6 hours ago, SeaBeeTea Diaries said:

I think part of me still struggles to accept that I do have OCD, if that makes sense?

Its very common for people with OCD to continue to doubt they have OCD.  This is due in part to the fact that OCD itself causes us to doubt more, and also it can be unpleasant to accept we have a condition like OCD, its not exactly something to look forward to after all.  The good news is you don't have to accept 100% you have OCD in order to get treatment and to begin recovery.  You can still learn the techniques in therapy to handle intrusive thoughts better, and they are valid whether or not you have OCD.
 

6 hours ago, SeaBeeTea Diaries said:

Is it still OCD when it is COVID- specific like this? Any thoughts would be much appreciated

OCD and its associated intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors can be about anything.  Some people tend towards one specific issue for a long time, other people move from anxiety to anxiety.  And OCD can definitely affect us about real world concerns.  To have OCD a person must suffer from intrusive unwanted thoughts (obsessions) that cause distress (anxiety, fear, doubt, etc.) and engage in behaviors (compulsions) to try and alleviate that distress, in such a way that the compulsions and obsessions cause significant disruption in their life (the disorder part).  While most people are understandably concerned and upset about COVID, a person with OCD and COVID as a current obsession will have a disproportionate response to the fear and anxiety.

Hope that helps and again, welcome to the forum!

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I don't think so it is OCD as everyone is afraid because of covid-19 virus and everyone is trying to themselves clean as much as possible. So right now it is hard to tell if someone is suffering from OCD or only afraid of covid-19 virus.

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19 hours ago, SeaBeeTea Diaries said:

Is it still OCD when it is COVID- specific like this?

Obviously I can't say for sure in your case without knowing the behaviors involved, but regardless if the fears are around COVID (genuine fear) it can still be OCD if the OCD is fueling excessive fears/worries and rituals beyond what is recommended. 

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