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Bipolar Disorder Blog

By Kimberly Read & Marcia Purse, About.com Guides to Bipolar Disorder since 1998

OCD & Bipolar Disorder

Sunday June 3, 2007
Emilystars, a member of our Forums shares, “I have OCD alongside bipolar II. Is it common to be diagnosed with both?”

Yes, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in those with bipolar disorder is well documented. A number of clinical research studies have evaluated the prevalence of those diagnosed with both disorders. There is a range of findings, but some studies show the figures as high as 35% of those with bipolar disorder who also have OCD.

I found a recent article entitled Bipolar and Nonbipolar Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Clinical Exploration by Amit Zutshi, Prakash Kamath and Y.C. Janardhan Reddy. In this paper, the research team found that bipolar OCD was a bit different than just OCD. “Most bipolar OCD subjects reported worsening of OCD in depression (n = 22, 78%) and improvement in manic/hypomanic episodes (n = 18, 64%).”

Comments

March 5, 2009 at 10:04 am
(1) robin says:

I know the feeling about having ocd and bipolar I was diagnosed with both plus a couple other things but it really sucks because at times I feel like I am loosing my mind because it just dont look straight enough or clean enough People just don’t understand people like us..

April 28, 2009 at 10:56 am
(2) Sarah Sullivan says:

I am BP/OCD with other things to go along. I do think the OCD is worse when depressed; I have spent two weeks attempting to organize the same 100 sq. feet of computer/office area in my house. It’s driving me crazy on a daily basis, as I don’t work and that’s what I have been doing all day. My therapist has helped me some in breaking down some of the routines I used to have to do on a daily basis and repetitively, but there are definitely some that are not going away.

April 29, 2009 at 12:25 am
(3) Suzy says:

I have Bipolar, and a mild case of OCD. However, I do have a different question regarding Bipolar and other
ailments. My son was just dx’d with Bipolar Disorder, and he also has Social Anxiety Disorder. Is there any connection between the two of these disorders? Does anyone know? Thanks!

August 23, 2009 at 11:34 am
(4) Sara says:

I’m undiganosed for this but have struggled in and out of episodes,Theyn inb the last 8 months since my last suicide attemps.Been in the situation that have to move inn with my Father and stepmother because of the death of my youngest brother.So ther has been no way to hide this time what this ,and she works for a doctor ,has witnessed.She broke her upper arm about 6 weeks ago.So I’ve had to invalids instead of one.They just wiatched my last crash.Attemped suicide for a week.I must be harder to kill than ebloa virus.I have somehow come out the other side angain to manic.So I’ve run in an 8 month strech of manic,I seem to have lows near my period but more low this time.Can this get worse from menapause,I think nalthough I’m 43 I have been changing about the last 4 years after bad back surgery with nerve damage from the waste down.??????????????????????????????Help!!!!!!!!

August 23, 2009 at 4:07 pm
(5) K says:

Sara – Hang in there! See if you can find a therapist & psychiatrist that your trust and don’t give up! I have heard that menopause can affect mood, so I would definitely talk this over with your health care provider!

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