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Question: Is there a relationship between an extremely low body weight and worsening of ocd behaviors?

(Posted by: Giggles-for-life on 2010-07-22 12:04:06)

I'm 19 years old and have both anorexia and OCD. I was diagnosed with OCD at age 6, and with anorexia at age 13. Last summer, I reached a weight that was still very slim, but healthy for my body type, and it seemed as if my OCD behaviors/ thoughts improved a lot. I have since relapsed and am back down to a low weight, and my OCD has been spinning out of control. So I guess my question is, could it be that my low body weight is causing my OCD symptoms to be worse? If I were to reach a healthier body weight, will my OCD likely improve? I was just wondering if there was some chemical explanation or something like that. Thank you so much

Posted by: Writer Roo on 2010-07-22, 12:08:29

This would be something to ask your doctor or psychologist--a very good question :). I am definitely not a doctor or claiming to give you the right answer, but this is my theory: I think the two might have a relationship between them in your case. It is possible that because you have OCD you like to be able to control things in your life. Anorexia is an illness that generally in the root is caused by wanting control in your life and "the only thing you feel you can control " is your body. So by having control of your body, it causes your OCD to flare and vise versa. It's just my theory, but I hope that shines a little light on the topic for you? Good luck getting some answers!

Posted by: Stephani Calabrese on 2010-07-23, 00:43:53

I'm not quite sure so I have attached websites on both OCD and anorexia. I hope this helps you.