OCD and Autism

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I was wondering if you guys have obsessive compulsive disorders of some kind , I have obsessive thinking, I've always had obsessive thinking, with words, i wanted to be a minister when i was younger buti had obsessive thinking of filthy words and filthy images!! I almost was destroyed by that (remember I didn't know then that i had autism) I wandered if anyone had an OCD problem like I did.

I have been diagnosed with OCD as well as an ASD. I have struggled with the OCD since I was little. When I was in middle school, I was a compulsive hand-washer and I was terrified of getting sick. Right now, my OCD affects me in that I have to perform rituals to prevent bad things from happening to me and my family.

I'm diagnosed with both and as a child my OCD began around when I was ten. It started with being obsessed with normal and worrying about my hygiene and everything because I wanted to be neat and clean and take good care of myself and not be ugly. I also didn't like to get dirty so I grew out of being a tomboy. I was also very self conscious about my body language and my facial expressions and how I sat and ate because I was clumsy, kids thought I was weird and thought I showed off and said I was crazy and insane and made comments about my body posture and facial expressions and I hated being around those kids so I avoided them as much as I could and I felt relaxed and calmer and felt I could be myself more without those kids around and if I didn't see the hallway from my desk. I didn't want those kids to see me and then go to their friends and tell them another weird thing I did. And I have heard comments like "look at League Girl" so I knew I was being watched. So while I was obsessing about wanting to be normal and what normal behavior is, it was not a pleasant obsession and it was not done for enjoyment and it didn't give me any pleasure or helped me relax so I say this was an OCD obsession than an autistic/aspie one all because of those kids and because my hormones changed so I all of a sudden cared that I was different when before I just didn't care and the negative comments didn't bother me much. But in 4th grade I didn't take them well so hence the OCD obsession and being self conscious about myself.

I also got obsessed with cleaning so I always wanted a clean house. It was all about wanting to be normal because my family was different and everyone had parade of homes and we didn't. I also got into the obsessive hand washing because I always thought they were dirty and then my skin was cracking so my mom got me lotion and told me washing them too much is what did that to my hands so I stopped that ritual. Wait I was nine when I started to get obsessed with a clean home so nine was about the time it started and then it evolved from there. Then when I was older, whatever would upset me would stick with me and I couldn't get over it and whatever is bothering me I couldn't get over until it was resolved and it was hard to calm me down. It would even interfere with my education sometimes whenever I got that upset. But this problem is also found in autism so I don't see the difference.

I am not so much OCD anymore but now my OCD is worries and fears but that is also part of anxiety too but they both overlap so they look the same. I am so obsessed with money my husband handles the finances because I was living like we were poor and I have better understanding of those people on Extreme Cheapskates. I feel so normal compared to their problem and I am far from their OCD. I swear this money saving and extreme cheapskate thing has to be a mental illness, some form of OCD. But what if they liked living that way, then what do we call it, "obsessive saving disorder?"

My husband had to get his fake tooth pulled because of an infection up his gum and he was in pain and his jaw bone was broken too because of the infection and it was going to cost us $4,000 to get it done so I was freaking out and panicking and I wanted to do a GoFundMe page and try and get money to help pay for this and my husband said no to that so I started saying we can't do anything, no more fun stuff, we must do nothing at all and stay home to save save save. I do not handle change well especially when it's about finances. To him it was normal stuff and not a big deal but to me it was a huge deal because of $4,000 dollars and that is with insurance and because he didn't have dental insurance I didn't know how much it was going to be. I fear the unknown. But even people with dyspraxia fear the unknown so I guess they have OCD/anxiety disorder too. :/ This is an example right here how it affects me today and sometimes others around me have to suffer because I put my misery onto them unintentionally. Which is why my husband handles the finances because he felt he couldn't even live a life. I would freak out if he spent a dollar because I was doing one of my saving sprees because of the unknown. We had a baby coming then so I was doing my saving spree for a new baby to get ready for it. I even wanted him to "die of thirst" than to spend some money on a cup of coffee because I wanted him to go to a drinking fountain and drink from those public fountains on the sidewalks or until he goes into work and then take a sip from the fountain. I would rather go thirsty to save money so I wanted him to do the same and because he didn't, I was so mad at him he had to hear about it for a month. I'm not exaggerating. Then he spends a dollar on a bag of chips and I totally flipped out about it and had to pull over to cry and after that my husband decided he was going to handle the finances because he couldn't take this anymore. He said I couldn't handle the finances because it was giving me too much anxiety and then he has to suffer from it. He had only spent $11 that one month but to me it was a big deal because I thought that extra $11 would help towards our savings for our baby and I was worried he was going to keep spending more and I wouldn't be able to save as much. I even wanted to take his debit card and credit card and he told me I better not do that or he will be pissed. I told him to not spend money or else I will do it. That's how crazy money makes me because of the unknown and I hate surprises and I never know when it will happen so hence the saving sprees I would do until my husband took over.

I have a few obsessions so to speak. For instance today I was drawing tables and putting in names and birthdays and when they were x days old and it took me half an hour to draw a simple table because every measurement had to be exact. Not a single millimetre over. Then I needed another table and it took me 6 attempts to get it perfect.

The professionals diagnosed me with OCD, secondary to generalized anxiety disorder. I experience this as a constant jittery feeling that goes up-and-down but is almost always there, and repetitive thoughts, and the inability to let thoughts go. I've had these problems ever since I was a little kid, and so they've gotten better but I still have them.

My question: I wonder how people on here define the difference between OCD, healthy interests that excite you, and an obsession.

Two examples of two people who have the same obsession, one has OCD and the other has autism.


The OCDer is worried about the possibility that he is a psychopath so he keeps on researching it for hours and hours reading about it to keep on reassuring himself he isn't.

The ASD person is fascinated on the topic about psychopaths because he is curious about them the way their mind work and the way they think so he spends hours and hours reading about it and he finds the whole thing interesting so he keeps reading about them and finding personal blogs about it and forums and reading posts by these people who actually are a psychopath than an NT who isn't one that writes about it.


While these two people are doing the exactly same thing with their obsession, their intentions behind it are different.

As a teen, it was suggested I had OCD, but symptoms have lessened over time.

The psychopath example makes perfect sense. If the interest comes from an intense worry, then it becomes more and more of an obsession the longer the person persists.

If the person has an interest and enjoys spending hours reading, when does that become an obsession? I suppose as the person ignores more and more of his/her friends and other interests? This one isn't so clear cut somehow, because one person's obsession is another person's interest.

Good lord! Hit the nail right on the head here! Was single for 10 years then decided to give it a go again, but got used pretty badly, mentioned to councilor and she mentioned it had all the hallmarks of ASPD. So read a little to start with, then got into another short term relationship, similar happened again, then a third time and all very similar... So studied the Hell out of it! lol in hopes i see the signs before hand and not let my wants of emotional connection get in the way of my gut instinct.. Its actually a very fascinating read, also there is a chap on youtube that created a blog when the internet was at its infancy, first blog of its kind at the time. Can post the link if you like? Definitely individuals you NEED to run away from, but at the same time i do pity them, as they do feel depression/anxiety etc, but everything they do is a game for self empowerment and they only self pity... Very interesting spectrum, but often mighty destructive unfortunately!

I think obsessions and special interests are the same thing. Back when I was a kid, they were called obsessions. Now the term is special interest. Why the change? Even my mom has picked up in the term so obviously she still reads about autism.


I have noticed an overlap between ASPD and NPD. I have read more on narcissism than I have on psychopathy but they both sound alike except narcissists are not impulsive.

Not sure if they are the same thing really, as i had a girlfriend some years ago (psychotic, yes as mentioned i am a magnet for them!) That was obsessed with cleaning, even if i cleaned the house thoroughly it wasnt enough, she would clean over and over again... Things like this i think are OCD... Certainly wasnt a special interest of hers, but obsessive compulsive, absolutely.. So yes there are differences.. Also other examples, there are some women that when pregnant, there hormonal imbalance does crazy things to certain cravings, like some need to eat coal, and some get a tasting or tree bark, they literally need it! This again are symptoms of OCD, cant say its really a special interest! lol ( But could just be bodies way of craving a certain nutrient/mineral thats in these items, but not sure on that)


Also there are many areas of ASPD, its not limited to narcissism, sociopathy and Psychopathy,. Narcissism is the ""Lite"" if you wish, Psychopathy encompasses all of them, and other personality disorders not mentioned here, it is also quit a broad spectrum.

You asked why they changed "obsession to "special interest" in the autism world? Maybe it's because anywhere else I've ever heard or used the word "obsession," it generally means that the person is going a bit overboard, hence my question earlier about healthy interests vs. obsessions. Maybe they figured the term "special interest" doesn't sound so negative, even though you say you see it the same way?

Anyhow, a regular obsession beats an OCD obsession any day obviously.

Well doesn't an aspie interest go overboard if that is all they are talking about and they abandon their other duties and forget to do things like eat or going to the bathroom or staying up too late so they are tired all the time because they would rather spend time with their interest?

You're right that the term obsessions is a board word and it can mean anything. It's not exclusive to autism. I have noticed even NTs get unhealthy obsessions like someone might get obsessed with their ex and stalk them because that is all they can think about because they didn't take it so well for the break up. Or someone gets depression so all they do is sit and play video games all day and have no interest in doing other things and being with people. More overlaps here because what the person with depression is doing is also something an ASD person might do. But my point is when I was a kid, aspie interests were called obsessions. Now they are called special interests. Someone on this forum said it was a PC term. I am sure if you were to find old information on AS from the 90's you might see the term obsession.

Last edited by League_Girl on 21 May 2016, 4:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sorry, got a little carried away back there! ... I think special interest is more when its done in free time, when you have time to focus on the interest that you enjoy and i think obsessions are when they go beyond the boundaries of free time that can possibly have negative impacts.. NT's have special interests also, but those on the spectrum, tend to be more focused on theirs and spend more time with their interest. Even when talking about an interest, an NT might talk for a few minutes where someone on the spectrum would likely be happy talking for hours on it..

For instance, i like graphic design, and when im working on a project i can be fully focused and divulged in it, so when it comes to a lunch break, most NT's would gladly take that lunch break, where i wont want my focus broken and keep on going...

I have Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) with my Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Synesthesia. Does OCPD count?

No. OCD is not to be confused with OCPD.