OCD and Alcohol Abuse
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Join Date: Sep 2016
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OCD and Alcohol Abuse
Has anyone else noticed a correlation between OCD tendencies and alcohol abuse? I've had minor OCD issues for as long as I can recall. I've always fought hard to control them so they didn't control me.
For the past several years, they were, for the most part, under control. I thought I finally had them in check. But now, 12 days sober, I find I'm struggling with them yet again. I think what I understood to be me having them in check was really the alcohol muting them from fully manifesting.
Luckily, my OCD issues, while irritating, aren't horribly severe. They're certainly not enough to cause me to drink again. I'm more just curious if anyone else has issues with OCD and has noticed a return of them after cessation of drinking.
For the past several years, they were, for the most part, under control. I thought I finally had them in check. But now, 12 days sober, I find I'm struggling with them yet again. I think what I understood to be me having them in check was really the alcohol muting them from fully manifesting.
Luckily, my OCD issues, while irritating, aren't horribly severe. They're certainly not enough to cause me to drink again. I'm more just curious if anyone else has issues with OCD and has noticed a return of them after cessation of drinking.
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
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Hi SoberLifeforMe 
I'm not OCD but I've seen several people say they experience a correlation.
I don't think it's a dealbreaker tho - with the right amount of support and effort I really believe anyone can get and stay sober
D
I'm not OCD but I've seen several people say they experience a correlation.
I don't think it's a dealbreaker tho - with the right amount of support and effort I really believe anyone can get and stay sober
D
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Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 315
Thanks, Dee. I agree, it's certainly not a deal breaker. I hope it didn't come across as though I was trying to setup a reason to drink. I definitely wasn't. It's just an observation about my own experience that dawned on me tonight.
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Hey SoberLife,
When I got sober all my other mental health issues reared their ugly heads. I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, my eating disorder became out of control, I had suicidal ideation, a whole slew of issues that cropped up.
I find that drinking either exacerbates pre-existing conditions or puts them on hold while we are self medicating. Just as quitting drinking can either quiet them down or make them a problem again.
Have you looked into DBT or CBT?
When I got sober all my other mental health issues reared their ugly heads. I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, my eating disorder became out of control, I had suicidal ideation, a whole slew of issues that cropped up.
I find that drinking either exacerbates pre-existing conditions or puts them on hold while we are self medicating. Just as quitting drinking can either quiet them down or make them a problem again.
Have you looked into DBT or CBT?
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 315
I'm not entirely certain that it does correlate. I guess I'm maybe asking whether it does, rather than making a statement of fact. In my case, my OCD tendencies were minimized while drinking, and since stopping, I've noticed them returning. It's just something I didn't anticipate with sobriety.
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: US
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Yes. I think anyway I obsess about alcohol and I compulse by drinking it. When I'm not drinking it is easy for my thinking to become very obsessive. Specifically things like being on time....being late makes me sooo anxious. I can obsess on past events in my life...traumas and abuses. I can obsess about food. I seem to control compulsions but I think without recovery, I will eventually exhaust myself and compulse with drinking. So a strong recovery plan that helps me deal with my past and learn to let things go is really important. My thinking, beliefs and emotions control my behavior. If my thinking is 'clean' then I'm less likely to compulse. And yes, to someone else's point, it increases my anxiety exponentially if I don't learn healthy ways of coping with my thoughts, core beliefs (which are usually distorted) and emotions.
I obsess about alcohol and I compulse by drinking it. When I'm not drinking it is easy for my thinking to become very obsessive. Specifically things like being on time....being late makes me sooo anxious. I can obsess on past events in my life...traumas and abuses. I can obsess about food. I seem to control compulsions but I think without recovery, I will eventually exhaust myself and compulse with drinking. So a strong recovery plan that helps me deal with my past and learn to let things go is really important. My thinking, beliefs and emotions control my behavior. If my thinking is 'clean' then I'm less likely to compulse. And yes, to someone else's point, it increases my anxiety exponentially if I don't learn healthy ways of coping with my thoughts, core beliefs (which are usually distorted) and emotions.
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Join Date: Oct 2013
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I posted a few days back about my OCD and alcohol use. Can't link to it yet, but the thread is called "My story." I think it's on the second page. I strongly suggest you read it, because I know exactly what you're talking about, and I feel your pain.
I believe they are STRONGLY related. Alcohol and drug abuse is also common with us OCD-ers. Instead of doing it to numb or escape like most, we do it because we feel like we have to, compulsively. I know exactly what you're talking about.
I believe they are STRONGLY related. Alcohol and drug abuse is also common with us OCD-ers. Instead of doing it to numb or escape like most, we do it because we feel like we have to, compulsively. I know exactly what you're talking about.
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