Addictions- OCD on steroids?

[RecoveringwithChrist]

Anyone find that taking up hobbies helps clear their minds... for me personally taking up woodworking and playing guitar is something that really just brings peace and solace to my mind. I can even talk with God more uninterupted while I`m doing these things. When I am doing nothing that`s usually when the devil can attack me with unwanted thoughts more easily, most likely the reason is that I`m bored

 

[OCD=Owie]

That is something that many people with OCD point out. Having a hobby or something else to keep you busy helps a lot with kicking your symptoms. It's not just you!

 

[OCD=Owie]

Also, didn't you previously ask in this thread if OCD was the same as an addiction? I remember reading a thread on here that asked that, and the title of this thread seems to suggest that.

If so, then the answer is no. OCD is not an addiction, it's what's called an anxiety disorder.

In the case of an addiction, a person is compelled to keep performing some act (such as drinking, smoking, doing drugs, etc.) because it gives them some sort of high. They feel good when they do these things.

With OCD (and other similar disorders) the sufferer is compelled to to keep performing some act or acts (washing hands, mentally ruminating, checking, etc.) in order to achieve temporary relief from the horrifying fears related to their obsessions. They don't want to perform these compulsions, they want their awful feelings to stop, and they feel that performing compulsions is the only way to stop these awful feelings. Of course, they're almost always wrong. These compulsions only give them a short period of relief at best. Nevertheless, they are compelled to continue performing them despite the little good that is done by them.

An example of this would be someone who has fears of germs washing their hands repeatedly. They don't find hand washing enjoyable. Instead, they're afraid that if they don't wash their hands, they may get sick and die.

 

[RecoveringwithChrist]

Yah I changed the thread cuz no one was responding(read the small print lol) , but thanks for the detailed answer anyway. Wow I'll keep that with me for life. I like it when people explain things clearly and make it easy to understand.

Ya see here's the thing though I find that I become sorta obsessed with my hobbies though almost like an ex-alcoholic who becomes a workaholic... you know what I'm sayin? I have to kinda fight to not let myself do it too much... I want to have a healthy balance. Would you say this is more because of leaving my addiction behind and it's an addiction that's transferring over rather then OCD that is transferring over?

So now my question is, would you say that people who have OCD are more likely to fall into addictions then others? I think that people who have depression are def more likely but what about OCD?

 

[OCD=Owie]

Yah I changed the thread cuz no one was responding(read the small print lol) , but thanks for the detailed answer anyway. Wow I'll keep that with me for life. I like it when people explain things clearly and make it easy to understand.

Ya see here's the thing though I find that I become sorta obsessed with my hobbies though almost like an ex-alcoholic who becomes a workaholic... you know what I'm sayin? I have to kinda fight to not let myself do it too much... I want to have a healthy balance. Would you say this is more because of leaving my addiction behind and it's an addiction that's transferring over rather then OCD that is transferring over?

So now my question is, would you say that people who have OCD are more likely to fall into addictions then others? I think that people who have depression are def more likely but what about OCD?

Well OCD is closely related to depression. Many people who have OCD also suffer from depression. And, as I understand it, people who suffer from depression often seek relief from things like drugs and alcohol. So I wouldn't be surprised to hear that people with OCD are more likely to have addictions.

Of course, as you can probably guess, trying to use these things to control your depression only creates more problems, and often makes things worse. There's a reason doctors don't prescribe large quantities of alcohol to combat OCD and/or depression. Sure there's the temporary relief initially, but eventually you "come back down to earth" and are right back where you started, sometimes feeling worse that before. I can tell you that I have (and unfortunately, still do) battle with masturbation, and it only seems to make my OCD worse.

You seem to be concerned that your hobby is an addiction, which shouldn't be the case unless you have some very strange hobbies! Addiction involve performing something that gives you a high, or euphoria. Examples of addictions are alcoholism, drug addictions, and masturbation. All of these things involve a temporary feeling of euphoria, making you feel great. However, once that temporary high is over, you have sort of sense of "oh, man. That's it..." You have nothing after that high, but the memory of that feeling sticks in your brain, and you end up wanting to experience it again. It's a hard thing to resist because there's an actual strong chemical process that takes place in the brain, giving you a powerful desire to do it again.

But normal hobbies, like playing guitar and woodworking in your case, don't give a sense of euphoria. You like and enjoy your hobbies, but you're not addicted to your hobbies. Thus, that strong feeling isn't burned into your brain to make you desperately seek it out again.

Sure there's such a thing as doing too much of a hobby, like in cases where you have work that you need to get done or whatever, and you can get carried away with hobbies and do them too much. However, addictions are characterized by the powerful desire to repeat certain acts in order to achieve a strong feeling of pleasure, despite any destructive side effects there might be associated with them.

Does that make sense?

 

[RecoveringwithChrist]

Well OCD is closely related to depression. Many people who have OCD also suffer from depression. And, as I understand it, people who suffer from depression often seek relief from things like drugs and alcohol. So I wouldn't be surprised to hear that people with OCD are more likely to have addictions.

Of course, as you can probably guess, trying to use these things to control your depression only creates more problems, and often makes things worse. There's a reason doctors don't prescribe large quantities of alcohol to combat OCD and/or depression. Sure there's the temporary relief initially, but eventually you "come back down to earth" and are right back where you started, sometimes feeling worse that before. I can tell you that I have (and unfortunately, still do) battle with masturbation, and it only seems to make my OCD worse.

You seem to be concerned that your hobby is an addiction, which shouldn't be the case unless you have some very strange hobbies! Addiction involve performing something that gives you a high, or euphoria. Examples of addictions are alcoholism, drug addictions, and masturbation. All of these things involve a temporary feeling of euphoria, making you feel great. However, once that temporary high is over, you have sort of sense of "oh, man. That's it..." You have nothing after that high, but the memory of that feeling sticks in your brain, and you end up wanting to experience it again. It's a hard thing to resist because there's an actual strong chemical process that takes place in the brain, giving you a powerful desire to do it again.

But normal hobbies, like playing guitar and woodworking in your case, don't give a sense of euphoria. You like and enjoy your hobbies, but you're not addicted to your hobbies. Thus, that strong feeling isn't burned into your brain to make you desperately seek it out again.

Sure there's such a thing as doing too much of a hobby, like in cases where you have work that you need to get done or whatever, and you can get carried away with hobbies and do them too much. However, addictions are characterized by the powerful desire to repeat certain acts in order to achieve a strong feeling of pleasure, despite any destructive side effects there might be associated with them.

Does that make sense?

I get what your saying thanks again for the response. I think that doing activities that you like does give you a high as well. That's why the more extreme the hobby is the more "adrenaline rush" there is the more it is possible to become addicted. Like people who become addicted to sky diving for instance.

Even video games too is not that "extreme" but people become addicted to them because there is some sort of small but steady high that people get from playing them. I know this because when I tried to stop playing I got withdrawal symptoms. And for some reason for me playing online video games and masturbation just went hand in hand, I don't know why but it just did.

But yah I do see that I was holding on to some false ideas which you just just shed some light on :

"Sure there's such a thing as doing too much of a hobby, like in cases where you have work that you need to get done or whatever, and you can get carried away with hobbies and do them too much. However, addictions are characterized by the powerful desire to repeat certain acts in order to achieve a strong feeling of pleasure, despite any destructive side effects there might be associated with them."

This really helped me. I gotta understand that ya addictions are looking for high without regard for deadly consequences. Playing guitar doesn't have those consequences unless I am becoming poor by not working because of playing it too much.

 

[OCD=Owie]

Well, I think you do have a point about sky diving and video games. I noticed early on in my suffering from OCD that playing a lot of video games did seem to make my OCD worse. Specifically, I attributed it to giving me a sense of isolation from the world, which in turn, made my OCD worse (since being isolated seems to make OCD worse in my experience.)

Before I stopped therapy, my therapist also told me that video games keep your brain running faster than it normally would. That extra activity aids OCD symptoms (whereas relaxing your brain helps squelch them.)

Even as I say that, I admit that I play a lot of video games these days, even though I have had a lot of negative side effects in the past from playing a lot. I only have one class this semester, and I still haven't been able to find a job, which are two reasons that I have been playing a lot.

I should also point out that masturbation is also something that I struggle with. It's something that I also used to attribute to adding to a "sense of isolation," and I might not be wrong about that. OCD symptoms, excessive video game playing, and masturbation seem to go hand in hand in hand, in my personal experience. The latter two can be addictions, I definitely agree. The former, however, is fundamentally different, as I mentioned before.

 

[cabsmom]

I think it is very therapeutic to have a hobby, whether or not you have OCD. I do know exactly what you mean though. I have OCD (about 28 years) and when I am busy, especially with a hobby, my symptoms become much less prominent. As long as you are taking care of your responsibilities, I see nothing wrong with healthy activities being a large part of your life--ENJOY!!!

I also understand about talking to God while being active. It may sound strange, but I find myself more able to talk with God when I am cleaning sometimes.