Let me start by saying I am not a medical doctor. Anything that is medical I found via online research. I am merely giving you my opinion on the things that I have found and my own personal diagnosis and journey.
There is a direct connection between OCD and alcoholism. With the research that I have done, we are not sure which one brings on the other indoor which one exasperates the other. So basic to say there is a clinical and diagnosed connection between the two. Back in 1984, I had an employer who was concerned for me. He was caring enough to take me to a psychiatric evaluation in Las Vegas NV. After spending approximately 2 hours with the psychiatrist he gave me a diagnosis and a prognosis. The diagnosis was that I had a type of OCD and I used alcohol and other substances to medicate myself against the obsessive-compulsive disorder. His prognosis was it was likely I would never get better. At this stage in my life, alcohol became necessary on a cellular level and as much as I would want to stop, I knew that I could not. I was not sure about his diagnosis, but I was confident of his prognosis.
I was confident that I was of the hopeless variety. I knew I did not know how to live. I was hoping every day that I just would not die. Almost everything I had, that was worthwhile, had either left or it was about to. The one thing that this psychiatric visit got me was an understanding of the miracle I was involved with when it came to my personal recovery.
In simple terms, obsessive-compulsive disorder is a disorder in which people have recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas, or sensations/ obsessions that make them feel driven to do something repetitively and compulsively. OCD is a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts/ obsessions and or behaviors/ compulsions that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over. This defined me perfectly. It was my trap that I thought I was going to die in.
According to the medical information online there are several types of OCD and some of the common ones are aggressive or sexual thoughts, harming a loved one, germs, and contamination, and the one that particularly defined me was around self-control. When it came to alcohol, drugs, and other negative behavior I had lost the ability to control any decision to engage in that substance or behavior. In the beginning, I had lost the ability to stop once I started. As my addiction would deepen, I even lost the ability to not start. I was trapped in my addiction. I had no mental defense against the first drink or drug and once I began to drink her drug I could not stop.
When it comes to the question of OCD being linked to alcoholism, the definition and the behavioral connection make it a no-brainer. OCD has been associated with higher-than-average rates of drug or alcohol addiction which can negatively impact the outcome of the disorder people with even mild cases of OCD will misuse alcohol or drugs and that is where it can be exasperating the disorder and create a severe obsessive-compulsive scenario.
A common characteristic regarding OCD and alcoholism is that alcohol can provide short-term relief with certain systems, but eventually, everything catches up with the addicted person suffering from OCD eventually the anxiety, stress, and shame catch up with the addict. When this happens, the alcoholic feels the need to drink more should we do’s the degree of OCD. As the alcohol consumption and drug use dissipate the anxious feelings return and become worse than they were before they started drinking and using. Unless complete abstinence is combined with life-changing steps and continual assistance from another there is extraordinarily little hope of the person ever becoming well. One of the greatest miracles of my personal recovery is that I do not need to change the diagnosis as much as I needed to change the prognosis.
I am still an alcoholic and I still have OCD. However, because I do not drink or use drugs, I do not exasperate the OCD and based on life-affirming steps and a proven process I am able to manage the OCD so that it does not manage me. There is hope for all of us. If you suffer from OCD and alcoholism there is help for you. Please reach out if I can be enough encouragement to you. Do your own research and let me know how I can assist you along your journey.
Robert Pardon
Robert is the Recovery Guy. Getting clean and sober on April 25, 1986 has given me the insight and practical skill set to not only stay sober, but to also re-invent myself to the person I always wanted to become. Showing others how to do this is my life goal.
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