quaker wrote:
Executive function and OCD
I am presently receiving treatment for my OCD at the autism clinic at the Maudsley Hospital in London.
The Dr says that because of how my executive function is impaired my OCD can be problematic. Because my EF effects my ability to organise my thoughts and plan my day, I over-compensate and start desperately trying to control everything .......taken to the extreme over the years my obsessive systemising strategies have mutated into OCD.
Nothing mutates into OCD. OCD is a specific illness with a specific physiology. People with OCD have damage or abnormalities to the basal ganglia and damage or white matter abnormalities to the circuitry that connects the basal ganglia and other regions of the brain to the frontal lobes.
You might develop behaviors that mimic OCD, but it is not OCD and more than shivering from being cold is Parkinson's.
quaker wrote:
When I was first Dx with HFA as an adult, I did not relate to many of the defining characteristics, that was because my adaptive self had become 2nd nature to me (until depression cracked me open revealing my autism). One such things was my EF, as when I read about being disorganised and having difficulties planning I thought, "nope, that's not me, I am superobsessively organised"
Super obsessive organization across the board is not a symptom of OCD. A person with OCD may have to perform a specific task in a specific way as part of a ritual to relieve the anxiety from an intrusive thought however this thought is detached from the task itself in multiple respects. A person with OCD does not get upset that a pencil is out of place because it's out of place. A person with OCD gets upset that a pencil is out of place because if the pencil is not where it needs to be, their best friend might get shot in the head and it will be their fault.
Perhaps your doctor is confusing OCD with OCPD. They are entirely different disorders.
quaker wrote:
Slowly I am starting to see that so much of my life has been lived trying to survive. Now I am able to see that by planning and attempting to control everything all the time I am not a naturally good organizer by a long long shot.
This sounds a lot more like OCPD than OCD. I would raise the issue with your doctor or get a proper evaluation from someone who specializes specifically in OCD or OCPD. Unfortunately run of the mill general psychs tend to be very ignorant or misinformed on the matter.
quaker wrote:
When I am stressed my ability to organise is severely impaired and my OCD goes through the roof.
I would be interested to hear how other people here cope with their EF difficulties, OCD and particular how they can tell the difference between there EF or sensory issues when it comes down to feeling overwhelmed and preventing meltdowns.
Like I said, I don't think this is OCD.
09 Nov 2010, 3:22 am
