OCD or just part of Bipolar?? - Bipolar Disorder Message Board

annray · 12-23-2006, 07:07 PM

Hello, I have bp and severe anxiety/panic disorder. I have always thought that I might have OCD, but after being diagnosed w. bp I dont' know if it is just a part of having bp or if i should be taking something for OCD. I fit a lot of the criteria, I am always thinking something bad is going to happen, I am germaphobic, i obsess about everything i do or say and i have a lot of rituals that i have to do. counting things, touching things, and what explains me a lot is making sure something just "feels right". I have to have everything a certain way all the time i think that is what causes me to have such bad anxiety. I have to drink out of certain glasses, eat with certain silverware etc..etc...does this sound like OCD or just another hazard of being bipolar? Thanks for any help, and I will probably bringing this up to my pdoc, but that scare me too.

Rainboe · 12-23-2006, 10:29 PM

I have OCD and BP and I don't think your symptoms are a part of BP. I would say it's more OCD. Anti-anxiety meds help a lot though, if you get the right ones. It takes time. It took me about a year to stop checking under my bed every night before going to sleep, but now I can do it. I still do do it sometimes, but it's not as bad. A lot of my worse things are still there but the meds most certainly help.

celestetreystar · 12-24-2006, 12:55 AM

That sounds to me like OCD's I have several and they are seperate from my BP. Though, when I started to take Abilify for the BP that helped me with my OCD's some what.