can OCD almost fully dissapear when i am not stressed?

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i may possibly have OCD. but before i go to a professional i just want to get a better understanding of it, just to make sure.

i have had OCD tendencys since i was a kid, but as iv gotten older iv noticed some symptoms have become more stronger. is it possible for OCD to go into a sort of "hibernation" when my life is not so stressful? of course even just a little bit of stress sometimes brings back a little bit the OCD symptoms, but when life is MORE stressful the OCD becomes almost unbearable(to the point where i need help).

my ocd symptoms that come back when i am very stressed are:
-repeating prayers
-checking/re-reading everything
-pure O thoughts
-fear of contaminating std/pregnancy (even tho i a still a virgin)
-having to brush my teeth for 20 mins (fear of my teeth falling out)

but then when my life has NO stressfull factors, its almost like the OCD side of me sort of goes away (but then it comes back when the stress does).
is this normal and is this still OCD?

any help would be very apreciated. im just scared to go to a proffessional and him telling me that its not OCD its just in my head and not real

Mine does this and I'm diagnosed.

It's natural, as OCD is an anxiety disorder.

so its normal to have OCD and it disappear for a week or two, untill your stress returns? as that is what its doing for me. it sort of goes away for a few weeks. but then when i have an assignment due, i have to re-check it so may times over and over, and then i cant sleep at night because i keep getting worried that iv made a mistake and will fail my course.

or for a month or two, my OCD tendancys go in cycles. for a few months, i will have to repeat prayers over and over. but then 2 months later, after its ended, i can stop. and then im fine, untill stress comes back.

is that still OCD?

It can come and go. Mine will subside for a while, or I will have a good day or so, and then all of the sudden, it pops back up. I notice it particularly when I'm tired or haven't eaten.

OCD forum link

This helps to confirm what I'm saying a bit.

OCD gets worse with stress, so it stands to reason that mild OCD might only show up at all under stress.

I find something similar. I don't have diagnosed OCD but experience more repetitive/obsessive behaviours when I am stressed out. I also find this is linked to what I eat as well. I haven't quite narrowed down exactly what aspect of my diet is causing the increase in repetitive behaviours, but I strongly suspect that aspartame and fake sugar of any kind play a role. I am sensitive to these substances physically, and I have a feeling that they are at least in part, responsible for increased OCD-like behaviour. Stress I think is the number one culprit for me though. (I also have noticed that I develop tics after eating anything with aspartame or other fake sugar.)

I hope you don't mind me commenting on the 20-min teeth brushing. I used to do the exact same thing, and regret it now because of accelerated gum recession. Not really bad gum loss, but my dental hygienist did pointedly tell me that excessive teeth brushing isn't a great idea. Maybe you could slowly substitute some other activity for that instead? I just know that I regret doing that now.

All disorders in psychiatry can get influenced by stress, especially mood disorders.
How it is said above, since OCD is a form of anxiety disorder it get's influenced a lot by stress.

All my disoders get influenced by stress.

You can even distinguish OCD and OCPD by their pattern.
OCD comes and goes and is a lot of stress influenced, also ppl don't like to have it. OCPD (obsessice compulsive personality disorder) stays the same and ppl very often don't see it as a disorder.

OCD can also change in severity through time.

I had SEVERE OCD as a child, and it tortured me day after day.
It subsided during late teen years, and now has come back to be moderate in severity. It really just depends on multiple variables.

i'm having trouble understanding the difference between asperger's obsessive/repetitive behaviors and OCD obsessive/repetitive behaviors. how do you tell the difference as they are very similar? and i don't have the issue with brushing my teeth for 20 mins now thankfully(instead its flossing my teeth exactly twice between each teeth. which is much better then having to brush for 20 mins haha)

and for the past few weeks so far my issues have gotten much more manageable(less stress). but im just worried they will come back horribly again. do you think i have OCD and/or worth me going to the doc and asking for a psychiatrist about it?

and thanks for the advice, its all helpful in some way

I am diagnoes OCD too and mine at somedays I dont have any ocd at all... but the NeXT day I might get ocd of anything and everything

I belive that I get more ocd when angry and/or stessed

Mhmm, wonder if a line can really be drawn delineating between the two. My OCD (diagnosed) is pure O, intrusive thoughts and find that my inner aspie's inclination to perseverate intensifies the OCD experience. But where one ends and the other begins? both are intertwined in our neurology so I'm inclined to think it may be just part-and-parcel.

As to the wax and wane of OCD symptoms, yes it is common. Typically a diagnosis occurs when the symptoms are currently present as it would be considered an immediate and current issue needing attention in life. Would also say that my AS waxes and wanes dependent on various factors in the environment or my life and when one is aggravated the other is sure to follow, and likewise when one is balanced so the other relaxes.

To the OP: I don't know if this will help you, but brushing your teeth too much can cause more harm than good. I think overbrushing can wear away your enamel and pave the way for more cavities, not fewer. So if it is a cleanliness issue, there is good reason to not brush so much if you can wrap your mind around that principle.

I've been diagnosed with OCD and I agree with what others have said, that this is a normal characteristic of OCD. Being an anxiety disorder, it is worsened by heightened anxiety or stress in general. Tourette's tics are the same way. In fact, if there were not a relation to anxiety, I'd argue that's a sign it's not OCD.