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Originally Posted by amandalouise
Im glad you said you were going to get a second opinion. there are many different problems, normal, mental and physical that can share the same symptoms.
like you have already figured out he shares some symptoms of OCD and what you have read about Dissociative disorders...
one thing that jumps out at me is there may be a reason why the psychiatrist diagnosed him OCD rather than a dissociative disorder.....please dont take this as a diagnosis..Im just making ....guesses.... according to what jumps out at me in your post...
for one thing the appearing to have seizures.. the way the diagnostic criteria for dissociative disorders are wrote up in the DSM 5, a person can not be diagnosed with a dissociative disorder if they are having seizures.
you can read more about the american version of what the dissociative disorders are here....
Another reason the psychiatrist may have not used the diagnosis of dissociative disorders is because there is a diagnostic process for dissociative disorders. one part of this process is ruling out things that share the same symptom like OCD, and other physical/mental health issues that share the symptom of hearing voices.
yet another reason why the treatment provider may have not diagnosed the person with a dissociative disorder is that the new diagnostics state the symptoms cant be better explained by other mental disorders. there are many different ways to present with OCD ....
some people with OCD do have
audio hallucinations (hearing voices)
psychosis (perceiving the voices as separate entities that take over, ....)
delusional thoughts actions....
maybe while he was with the psychiatrist he was in constant or repetitive movement that only a trained professional is trained to look for....
gosh there are so many different reasons why a treatment provider diagnoses someone in a way in which we may not agree with or not see those things in ourselves or others.
my suggestion contact the psychiatrist, ask him why he diagnosed the way he did, your boyfriend can even get a copy of the write up about the appointment that may explain to him why he was diagnosed the way he was.
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I am quite familiar with the DSM because I almost have my B.S. in psychology (just a few more months). I don't believe what I saw was an epileptic seizure, I think it was a non-epileptic seizure which I have read extensively about. If that is the case then I do not believe a dissociative diagnosis could be ruled out.
I am aware that with OCD you can experience voices but my boyfriend's voice is not repetitive. The voice has his own opinions and thoughts. He seems to have an opinion on everything. I can see why from a certain perspective he could be diagnosed with OCD but if you look closer I don't think it fits at all. There is a big difference between intrusive thoughts and a distinct personality.
Thank you for your reply, I agree that we need to seek a second opinion. The reason I am so wary of this particular psychiatrist is that it is through our college and I have had bad experiences with their mental health facility. I talked with my psychiatrist about it and she says that she does not trust their program either and encouraged me to get him an off-campus referral.
It really bothered me that she told my boyfriend she could not explain the memory loss, headaches, or the convulsions. The only reason she diagnosed him with OCD she said is because of the recurring thoughts he has (which aren't even his thoughts). I was supposed to go with him today but I had a final. I am going with him next week though to his next appointment so I will get to ask my questions then!