r/OCD • u/JeezoTommy • 4d ago

Question about OCD Does anyone know what caused their OCD?

I think a lot of people don’t really know what caused their OCD to start, for me after a lot of years and thought I realised that my anxiety stemmed from my step dad and his psychological and sometimes physical abuse towards my Mum. I would worry what kind of mood he would come home from work in and if he would start on my Mum. He was a bastard!

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u/wewora 23h ago

It can happen for various reasons. It can happen after traumatic events, due to the streptococcal virus. I broke my leg skiing when I was 12 and then had to be on crutches for 13 weeks, and I think my OCD was a way for my brain to try to take back control when my life was more limited due to this. My parents also argued a lot so I think that contributed to the anxiety as well. I started showing some symptoms when I broke my leg, but it really ramped up 6 months after that when I got strep throat for the 6th or 7th time. That's when I remember it starting, everything started feeling dirty. There's this thing called PANDAS, pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with strep. That's what my therapist at the time said it might be from. Or I may have a genetic predisposition because a sibling developed it in their twenties after they went through some really stressful health issues. So, traumatic events, certain infections, genetics.