Posted by xjs7 on March 4, 2003, at 23:12:26
In reply to Re: OCD and Paranoia........, posted by zeugma on March 4, 2003, at 20:44:16
The difference between OCD and paranoia is that in OCD (or other anxiety disorders) reality testing is intact, whereas for paranoia (or other psychoses) it is not. So the person with OCD might worry that other people might be watching him or her, but know that such worries are irrational, because he or she knows no one around has a criminal history and there is no one who is actually stalking him or her. The person with a paranoid psychosis would worry about being watched, but would believe that the government is part of a conspiracy to spy on him or her, without having any evidence that this is the case. The person with OCD is able to realize that such thoughts are irrational; the person with paranoia actually believes that such thoughts are an accurate picture of reality. I hope this makes sense.
What you wrote sounds more like anxiety--but I cannot diagnose you. It would be wise to seek a professional evaluation. Anxiety is treatable with a variety of medications, and psychosis is also treatable. In fact, the treatment success rate for people with psychotic disorders is quite high. I hope this helps.
xjs7
poster:xjs7
thread:205852
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030301/msgs/206007.html