[DeceptiveHumor]

I have OCD and I was talking to my therapist about my family's history of mental disorders. There are several cases of depression in my family, but I couldn't think of anyone with OCD. Later, I was thinking about my grandma (who I don't have contact with) and I remembered going to her house when I was about ten years old and she had stacks of junk everywhere. She had an entire room filled to the ceiling with old newspapers, another with various other odds and ends (including some dried-up frogs). Basically, there was just trash everywhere. My family's always talked about how my grandma's been a little "off" and now that I know a lot more about OCD I'm wondering if it's possible that my grandma has the hoarding symptom and maybe I inheirted it from her. I don't horde stuff though...

[SleepsWithButterFlies]

Hi and welcome to PC ..Its late at night here so my mind is duh BUT I did read that OCD now is somehow linked to something....I will look it up but I think yes you did inherit the OCD

[SleepsWithButterFlies]

If you Google genetics and OCD you will find tons of info but check this out

"Incidence and Prevalence
The National Institute for Mental Health reports that about 3% of people in the United States have OCD. Typical age of onset for boys is 6 to 15, while for women it is often later, between 20 and 30. Risk factors like genetic predisposition and environmental stress contribute to OCD. Also, OCD is more common among people of higher education, IQ, and socioeconomic status. Men and women, however, are affected equally. Though its course is chronic and usually lasts a lifetime, it is treatable with medication, behavioral therapy, and, in extremely rare cases, brain surgery.

Risk Factors

Risk factors for obsessive-compulsive disorder include the following:

Genetics
Postpartum periods
Environmental stressors
Although there is no clear genetic evidence, obsessive-compulsive disorder tends to run in families. A person with OCD has a 25% chance of having a blood relative who has it. Like other mental illnesses, it is more prevalent among identical twins than fraternal. There is a 70% chance that identical twins with share it, and a 50% chance for fraternal twins. Currently, researchers do not understand OCD’s genetic mechanisms, though they suspect multiple genes are involved. "

[DeceptiveHumor]

Ah, ok. Interesting. Thanks for checking!

[Maven]

Yes, OCD can be genetic, and different family members can have different forms of it, so you could have gotten it from your grandma (who probably got it from other family members) without having the same symptoms. Part of how OCD develops is influenced by your experiences in life, which are different from your grandma's.

I don't know anyone who has OCD in my family, although there are all kinds of mental problems. Same thing with panic disorder.

I think it's sad that your family talks about your grandma that way, but that's the way it is with most victims of mental illness. I don't know if it would be a good thing or not, but maybe you should consider contacting your grandma, and maybe seeing if she's gotten help, or even knows about modern help, and letting her know that you could use advice from what she's learned living with OCD. Perhaps you could find some support in your family that way, someone who knows what it's like.