Can head injuries cause OCD?

Hello internet. I am a freshman in college, and have been dealing with obsessive-compulsive-like symptoms for years. It feels like they have become more apparent in my daily life and thoughts as time has gone on. I have not sought counseling or an official diagnosis yet for many reasons, but I know what it is. I also remember not feeling this way before I was ten or eleven. If that really is the case, then I wonder if this could have been caused by an accident I had falling down the stairs at my aunt's house that involved my head and a support beam to the house near the bottom of the basement stairs. Ever since that incident I have felt a sort of fuzziness or some other kind of sensation in my head above my eyes. It is almost like a very mild headache where a feeling is there, but no pain. I would love to hear any thoughts on the matter that you have to offer.

Hi Sunnyrains!

Did you see a doctor after your accident? You might very well have OCD; it wouldn't surprise me to hear a head injury-or any life threatening injury-could cause OCD.
However, I would encourage you to see a doctor/neurologist about your headaches to be sure you're okay physically.

*hugs* and well wishes,

Evol

My aunt worked (and still works) at that children's hospital. She drove me over to get my head scanned as quickly as possible after my fall since she claimed that after she propped me back up and I stopped crying I said something, and then repeated it immediately after saying it. At the time I did mention the odd sensation and I was told it would probably go away with time. It has yet to do that. Most of the time I am able to ignore it since I have had it for so long and it only slightly disrupts my concentration at low stress levels. It has only become an issue now that the average stress level for me in college is significantly higher than it was in high school. I have not adjusted to the new social dynamics or even having two roommates that well. At the very least I am still taking care of myself, doing laundry regulary, attending classes, and I have the cleanest desk on my floor.

I recently found this page from about.com. I do not trust it as a reliable source for two reasons. The first, it seems to rely on the principle that any traumatic head injury can alter brain chemistry (it may or may not since I do not know for sure.) The second, it's about.com. The phrase "jack of all trades, master of none" comes to mind when I think of about.com. I also realize that I should get to a doctor at some point, but I do not have the means to do so right now. It will have to wait for summer break perhaps since I am getting my wisdom teeth removed during winter break.

Hi Sunny,
Have you told your aunt the odd sensation has yet to pass?
College can be very stressful; it can definitely trigger OCD, which is essentially an anxiety disorder.
Is there someone you could see, like a college counselor? They really can help.
Yeah...I've never really trusted sites like about.com. It probably isn't very reliable or accurate.

Evol

Since my last post I have e-mailed the Westwood Institute for Anxiety Disorders, Inc. (their website is here) to see if head injuries can cause OCD. I hope to hear back from them soon. I do not know why this is bugging me so much lately. I really wish it would stop since I have to remain focused on finishing a lab report by Monday. It is going well so far, so it stands to reason that it will be finished by Monday (assuming my partner has done his end of the work.)

To answer your question Evol, no I have not mentioned this to my aunt. She works in radiology. From what I have seen of her work, she mostly does x-rays of kids' hands and other body parts to check if the bones are broken, fractured, etc. I do not think that telling her about this would be that helpful, and most of the time I can ignore the sensation. Also, she was already scared to death that she "broke her nephew" when it first happened. Bringing this up may not be the best idea since she is currently dealing with a lot of stress over her sons.

It probably would be a good idea to see if there is some service available on-campus where I can talk to someone or start getting help. I will send my CA an e-mail about this after I finish my lab report. I am surprised I did not come up with that idea on my own.

Hello

I have just came across this post when searching on google. It was a very long time ago when you posted this but i think then it is a bigger chance you alredy have some answers/results, et.

We may have some common reason of OCD so i hope you read this and will answer how is your life going.
When i was a child i have suffered OCD for several years. I do not know exactly when the symptoms have started and when the real symptoms gone away but i remember i have suffered for many years. Nobody have known about it only me. since i was very young i could not tell what it is or if i need treatment, i just lived with it.But it was real hell ( when i was about 24 i looked into it deeper because i was curious about my childhoods strange behavior and i found i had OCD for sure-all the symptomps the same, i have a book too and everything fitted me). Then after long years the symptoms had slowly but drastically decreased. I can say the obsessive-compulsive part of the disorder had 100% gone away but some personality characteristics remained with me and are present till today. I was very anxious and stressful all my life and i had mild depression all my life too. When i have to attend training at work, have some kind of exam, try out new things or something challenging is before me i have to confront i get very anxious and stressful (often to the level i feel sensation in my fingers, i get dizzy and my short term memory just shuts down- however i know i am oversensitized by these feeling). At the end everything happens alright, and i almost everytime am sure it will be okay but the anxiety just conquers me. And its very hard to have a full life with such simptoms because even the motivation to feel to want something new into my life is not present,i almost dont feel any motivation against anything. Besides these symptoms, i am very intelligent, provident and everytime looking into details and i even express myself so creative way that almost nobody doesnt understand what i am saying. I am now 30 and i think these traces of OCD are here with me. I never got treated or someting i just live with it because even the motivation to get treated (going from one doctor to the other, visiting therapysts, etc.) is not felt.

When i was maybe 5 years old i have injured my head- my forehead about 4cm above my left eyebrow (measured now when i am 30)- fell ahead and my head hit the corner of the concrete. The doctors had only sew it up without any brain scan or further investigation but even now i can feel the place of the shock on my skull. I have also one sided deafness but nobody knows if it was due to the head injury or i have born such.

So i just wanted to know if you have found any answers for your illness and how is your life going since then. Do you still have the symptoms of OCD or like mine, gone away but the personality traces have left in you everyday life.
Thank you for the answer

It may activate it, as any trauma can do this.

This is an ancient thread, but in case anyone is curious: brain trauma can indeed be a direct cause of OCD. People have developed severe OCD in the blink of an eye following head injuries, and even brain surgery. Here's a brief article with more information.

https://www.verywell.com/ocd-and-trauma ... ry-2510479

Bert the Turtle wrote:
https://www.verywell.com/ocd-and-trauma ... ry-2510479

Maybe, 'TBI, (even brain surgery), Can Cause Symptoms of OCD.' But not for everyone. It can cure OCD in some.