GAD or OCD

Hey Guys, I'm trying to figure out if I have OCD or GAD. Some therapist diagnose me with OCD and some with GAD. About a year ago I found a swollen lymph node on my son and worried that it could be cancer. I took him to a few doctors and they all pretty much said the same thing. Its probably not cancer but we will keep an eye on it. I finally decided to stop worrying about it after 6 months. Then I accidentally found some swollen lymph node on own neck and doctor said same thing so I stopped worrying about it. Then I had some cramps around my colon area and GI doctor told me that the only way to know if its cancer is if I get a colonoscopy, I did end up getting it. Good news is there was no cancer but she told me I have diverticulosis which is common in older people and 10% of the time it can be serious. I'm not that old, I'm 40 years old. I became so worried about this that it literally consumed me. I just couldn't get my mind off it so I thought that it was OCD and that's when I decided to see an OCD specialist and he told me I have OCD. He said the content of the thought doesn't matter. OCD is a fear of a thought. He also told me OCD people the brains are different and need to be careful because anything meant to bring down anxiety can become a compulsion, even something as harmless as drinking tea. I thought wow ok great, my life is over. I felt extremely limited and powerless with treatment. Then he said well its like exercise the more you do it the easier it gets. Anyway I'm trying to figure out if I have OCD or GAD. They do seem to be pretty similar in terms of obsessive nature but the content of the thoughts from what I read are different. Right now I am in such a high state of anxiety that I am afraid of everything to a certain extent. I am also afraid of reading OCD stories b/c I'm afraid of taking on other people's OCD. And ever since my therapist said the brain is different I am currently very worried about the brain and whether I am doing compulsions or not. My therapist had me convince that I have OCD. I am also easily triggered and just suffering from severe anxiety and can't really think straight. I just question whether I have OCD b/c when I do have courage to read other people's OCD stories, it just doesn't sound like I have those similar thoughts. And I need to know b/c the treatment for GAD and OCD are somewhat different.

I don't recall reading that there's a law that says you can't have both......

I personally think I suffer from both to some degree, and I would expect some overlap, to be honest. I think it's reasonable to think you might have traits of both disorders. You might have to try different therapies/medications until you find what works for you. That's what it often seems to come down to.

Yeah I think there's usually comorbid GAD and OCD present in OCD folks. Often times depression too.