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ADHD & OCD Dual Diagnosis

A case of two mental illnesses is hard to cure when only one illness is known. Absorption in unhealthy thoughts and activities lasts until a doctor finds the full cause. Doctors make treatment decisions for patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder that address difficulties in living. Once the full condition is diagnosed, caring for a disorder that interferes with daily life, relationships and achievement is effective.

  1. Two Diagnoses

    • ADHD and OCD are different types of disorders: behavioral disorder and mental disorder. The DSM-IV diagnostic manual describes ADHD as inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. There are three subtypes: predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive and combined. OCD is obsession with improper thoughts and compulsion to engage in behaviors that alleviate the anxiety caused by the obsession. OCD occurs with the predominantly inattentive and combined subtypes of ADHD.

    One Life Condition

    • A patient with a mental disorder that involves both ADHD and OCD experiences one life impairment. Distraction from important commitments and endeavors and the related inappropriate behavior impair typical living. Her life is interrupted, and possibly made distressing, by inadequate attention to important people and engagements and disruptions in beneficial behavior. Relationships with family and friends can become dysfunctional and failures can occur at work or in education. Although these results of illness occur with each disorder, the combined result is a greater impairment.

    The Dual Diagnosis

    • The patient is diagnosed with one type of disorder when that disorder is the primary condition. A primary condition causes the symptoms that impair the patient. If two types of disorders cause the symptoms that impair the patient, a dual diagnosis is right. Among patients diagnosed with ADHD or OCD, both types occur in 10 to 50 percent of patients. ADHD and OCD is diagnosed if a doctor must count contributions from each disorder to detrimental restless behavior and anxiety to describe the whole condition.

    OCD Anxiety

    • Patients with ADHD often experience anxiety. However, even anxiety the patient considers undesirable is not a symptom of this type. Anxiety that impairs the patient by causing obsession is an OCD symptom. OCD is diagnosed in ADHD patients with this primary anxiety. The thoughts that preoccupy the patient have anxious concerns. Life is troubled by a general fear of a terrible event or worry about a life situation. Anxiety experienced by ADHD patients is secondary anxiety that occurs because the patient is concerned about performance in social activity with family, accomplishment in important daily activites, or success in school or at work. The anxiety is a result of inattentiveness, impulsive behavior or inappropriate excessive activity.

    ADHD Restlessness

    • OCD patients are often restless. Fidgeting and pacing are two behaviors that reduce the anxiety involved in obsession. When behaving inappropriately, the OCD patient is inattentive. Commonly, an ADHD patient with the combined subtype fidgets or paces as part of hyperactivity. ADHD is diagnosed in OCD patients for this separate restlessness. Behaviors caused by the habit of excessive activity are improper for the patient. This restlessness does not reduce anxiety.

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