Link to stress and severity of OCD

Hello. I have just finished my exams. They weren't the greatest mark, but I have, or at least trying, to accept that won't change, but before exams for a few months before actually, I was super stress. My OC symptoms seem to be linked to stress. When I had more projects and stress from home to deal with, the more my OCD got. My most super stressful time was when I was going through 30mL or an ounce of hand sanitizer a week. I only used that at school, and no where else. I am not stress at all right now and I have no symptoms of OCD really. I have the occasional intrusive thought but no hand washing. I am pretty good. I'm not checking things really. The only thing that is still there is my number issues, but it's nothing major. Anyways, does anyone else find this link? What can I do to help? For school, I have an IEP with a bunch of stuff in it but I want to add extra time for projects on it specifically for this reason of OCD getting worse. But I can't because I need to go through certain channels to get it and I can't have my mom know. Anyways, what can I do at home. The more I prevent it, the more I focus into it. I really just need to be less stressed, so how would I make myself less stressed? Does anyone else have worse OCD symptoms when super stressed? Thanks for the response.

Social anxiety disorder, GAD, OCD, and panic attacks

Lexapro, 10 mg

Hi Nike,

A link between stress and OCD severity wouldn't surprise me at all. As you know, OCD is an anxiety disorder, and stress is essentially a form of anxiety. I'm fairly sure it is common for OCD symptoms to be exacerbated when one is under high levels of stress. For example, from a website: "While stress doesn’t cause OCD, a stressful event can trigger the onset of obsessive and compulsive behavior, and stress can often make obsessive-compulsive behavior worse."

The same site also provides several helpful suggestions aimed at reducing anxiety:
- Mindfullness meditation (I've heard this used with everyone from people with depression to cancer patients with promising results)
- Practice relaxation techniques

I won't go through all of them, you can read the source for yourself: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Symptoms, Behavior, and Treatment

In general, the same general advice tends to come up over and over again for combating stress:
- Eat as healthily as you can
- Try to get 7-8 hours of sleep per night
- Go for a one hour walk daily (or go to the gym)
- Reframe stressful events (even in the worst case, they're rarely as bad as you think)
- Take at least an hour out of everyday to do someone you purely enjoy i.e. listen to music, watch a movie, play video games
- If you haven't already looked into it, consider checking out Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, it's used to treat pretty much every anxiety disorder under the sun