Confusing aspergers with OCD?

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It seems that my functional levels depend on 'how tall I feel'. It is a become a real psychological issue for me because on days when I go out in public and feel tall I can function quite well but however on days when I perceive myself to feel shorter amongst others I get very anxious, paranoid and start to feel angry. Its like when I feel shorter I can barely function or hold my composure.


Is this a common way to feel if you have OCD? Or is the fact that my aspie brain cannot tune out things that annoy me the ways NT brains can? I suppose this might relate to the 'small things' being big things to us people on the spectrum? Our dislike of change?



I am about 5ft9 in height but that really is besides the point in this thread its just a debate about if this obssesve compulsive disorder or autism?

That's a good question, I'm pretty sure I have aspergers but I'm pretty sure I have OCD too, but I don't understand how anyone with aspergers could NOT have at least OCD to a certain extent because our symptoms consist of on-going (obsessive) thoughts and unjustified paranoia around things relating to sociability.
Now could OCD be causing autism-like symptoms? I guess you would have to talk to a professional about that, OCD is pretty complex in itself and there can be many reasoning's behind it and it's not so black and white why and who gets it.
Sounds like low self-esteem but that doesn't mean you don't have aspergers or OCD either, low self-esteem can also cause social anxiety which can be confused with aspergers. Though I'm pretty sure I have aspergers because it's been a life long thing, it's only natural I function better when my self-esteem is better though, that goes for anyone, but for me low self-esteem or high self-esteem the traits are still prevalent.

Last edited by Illuminated on 03 Jul 2013, 7:01 am, edited 1 time in total.

Do these symptoms I have described sound like low functioning Asperger's?

It's hard for me to answer that question because I don't know you on a daily basis and at a deep level. There's no real reason for you to be obsessive about your height because it doesn't really matter. (I'm 6' 3" and does little for my self-esteem) I think there's deeper reasoning for the self-conscious thoughts you are having, could be a multitude of things and conditions that could help contribute to it as well, I'm pretty sure there are neurotypicals self-conscious about their height too.

Well sometimes I like to just keeping 'feeling tall' and when people look taller than usual on certain days I get upset because I want things to stay the same

Sounds like a low-self esteem thing, not saying you do or don't have aspergers/OCD but I'd work on your self-esteem. Maybe try lifting weights, jogging, picking up some more constructive hobbies you can do. Some of the best boxers in the world are under 6'0", your height doesn't make you any less of a man lol, 5' 9" is average to maybe even above average.

Mike Tyson was only 5'10 and he was a great boxer.... then again though he was beat by 6'5 Lennox Lewis

That was after his prime, I think in the late 80's it could have been a different story.

To me that sounds like an OCD thing.

My big question though is 'why tallness?' I mean, how tall a person is is pretty irrelevant. It only really affects whether you can reach stuff. Why does your life revolve around it so much?

I used to enjoy towering over my peers when I was 13

is that why?

I recently discussed this very issue with a psychologist in relation to myself. Aspie symptoms have much in common with OCD symptoms and OCD can co-exist with Aspergers. An OCD diagnosis is given when the OCD is debilitating i.e the behaviours prevent the person concerned from functioning normally. If for example a person feels compelled to wash their hands repeatedly, this becomes OCD if the person does this all day or for large parts of the day to the exclusion of all else. If a person washes their hands many times a day but this doesn't stop them leading a normal life then it isn't classed as OCD. As you can see with this example, OCD diagnosis is a matter of impact on the life of the person concerned. To my mind, less pervasive OCD behaviours can be OCD but won't necessarily result in a diagnosis but that in turn doesn't mean that we should dismiss OCD as an explanation of the behaviours. Diagnosis appears to often be reserved for problematic behaviours where the individual concerned is being obstructed from functioning normally in society i.e diagnoses are instruments meeting wider social interests and not necessarily those of the individual. Diagnosis is a means to determine who might get social welfare benefits and treatment and if you happen to live in a country where such benefits are non-existent, diagnosis will likely be conferred less often. Diagnosis is not an entirely rational and objective process that is free from the socio-political (and economic) context.

In my case, I have chronic stims that have resulted in a number of muscular injuries that would otherwise be described as caused by over-use syndrome (OOS). My neck, calves and right thumb have chronic ongoing injuries resulting from stims. Luckily I have been able to transfer most of the stimming behaviours to other body movements but stimming itself is unavoidable. I would regard my stimming as OCD behaviour but manageable enough to not debilitate me. It remains to be seen whether this will be true as I get older and my body becomes more prone to injury.

Actually a lot more than you think is judged based on height. The opposite sex judges height for dating purposes, a lot of times the people in charge of hiring will discriminate based on height, the bottom line is people judge based on looks and height especially for males is a big part of that.

Happens, but I have OCD anyway, so it didn't make a difference.

No idea what it would be classified as but it sounds like to me you just feel physically vulnerable. Perhaps some martial arts training could help with that?

it is beyond ridiculous that one size fits all functioning is still being used by docs today [albeit in a different way but we all know what it refer to] but formaly speaking unless beliefs on functioning definition changes aspies wont ever be labled low functioning as it is defined by being on the intelectual disability spectrum;and having ID has a significant effect on our lives,academic ability,mental capacity, independance,personal care,capacity to learn life skills,communication,behavior etc from the moment we get up to the moment we go to bed.
to be diagnosed as having aspergers it is required to be one point or higher outside of the intelectual disability spectrum.

assuming are diagnosed on the spectrum,OCD or OCD behaviors go along with all forms of autism because it is a way of the mind clawing back control over a world which is full of anxieties,unpredictibility,change etc.
lorna wings daughter was fataly injured by OCD;her daughter was a profoundly autistic adult and was obsessed with drinking water,it weakened her blood to the point it caused her a heart attack, am living with a profound autistic with OCD who is exactly the same,she will even drink out of the toilet if she is having a really bad ocd day.
another resident with OCD has to repeat things over and over and over and turn around several times whilst counting or wash his hands specific amount of times; all of these things are only triggered by anxiety its how he gets control over it,its why he ended up misdiagnosed on the spectrum, he actualy has LD,severe challenging behavior and mental illness.
so OCD can show in all kinds of ways,its not us shoud be talking to its a pysch,especialy if have not been diagnosed with anything so far,as the original post coud also be described by things like social anxiety.