OCD and trauma disorders don’t always appear together, but when they do, coping can be extremely difficult. Maybe you’re reminded of a painful memory, then find yourself double-checking your stove even though you know it’s already off. Maybe a traumatic past experience of a break-in led to a ritual of checking door handles to feel safe. Learn how ocd therapist can help with both.
These days, it’s not unusual to be dealing with both trauma and OCD. And when that happens, the two interact and wind each other tighter in ways that are both confusing and exhausting.
Let’s explore the connection between trauma and OCD.
What Is OCD?
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) causes your brain to get stuck in a loop of distressing thoughts (obsessions) and urges to do certain repetitive rituals (compulsions) to avoid a future consequence.
While these rituals are often unwanted, individuals can’t feel relief until the compulsions are satisfied. “If I don’t do, then will happen”
Common compulsions include:
- Checking locks, appliances, or emails repeatedly
- Washing hands or cleaning excessively
- Mentally or verbally repeating words or phrases
- Lining things up or arranging items “just right”
- Ruminating, researching, or cognitively seeking certainty
- Avoidance
The tricky part? These behaviors provide a feeling of temporary relief, but they often reinforce the anxiety long-term.
What Is Trauma? (And Why It’s Not Always Obvious)
Trauma, including PTSD, is typically seen as something dramatic: a car crash, a war, a natural disaster, a physically abusive parent. That’s how it’s typically portrayed in movies and culture. More generally, trauma responses can occur in response to negative events that are difficult to cope with, or even understand.
Trauma symptoms can also stem from slower, quieter, or more chronic experiences. Trauma responses can come from anything that leaves you feeling unsafe or powerless. Events that create significant anxiety or fear.
Examples of events that can cause trauma symptoms that are often overlooked:
- Growing up in an invalidating or critical household
- Repeatedly being dismissed, neglected, or ignored as a child
- Bullying, harassment, or social rejection
- Ongoing medical issues
- Experiencing racism, homophobia, or financial insecurity
When that sense of safety gets disrupted over time, people develop coping mechanisms to feel more in control. These behaviors can be effective in the short-term, but are often detrimental in the long-term.
Unhealthy coping can include:
- Avoiding reminders of the trauma
- Shutting down emotionally
- Using drugs, alcohol, food, or screens to numb out
- Relying on compulsive habits to prevent imagined danger
These aren’t signs of weakness. They’re just the best way you were able to protect yourself, based on what you had available to you at the time.
How Trauma and OCD Feed Off Each Other
The link between trauma and OCD is real. Trauma can worsen OCD symptoms.
Here’s how OCD and trauma symptoms might interact:
- Trauma creates triggers related to reminders of the experience. These can present as intrusive thoughts or unwanted emotional sensations.
- Compulsions are behaviors that offer a reduction in uncertainty or a sense of control. They may be done as an attempt to prevent the trauma from happening again.
- Avoidance or Safety Behaviors can be conceptualized as a form of compulsions that assist in avoiding trauma triggers.
- Hypervigilance keeps you constantly on edge, watching for threats in an attempt to maintain safety.
For example, someone who survived a break-in might develop a ritual for checking windows and locks to feel safe, as an echo of that trauma. OCD steps in to make the world feel more predictable, more safe. But over time rituals can expand and anxiety can increase.
Signs You Might Be Experiencing Both OCD and Trauma
Not everyone with OCD has trauma, and not everyone with trauma develops OCD. But if both are showing up in your life, you might notice:
- Intrusive flashbacks or upsetting memories that pop up unexpectedly
- Repetitive or intrusive thoughts
- Behaviors that you feel “forced” to do, even if they don’t make sense
- Avoiding certain people, places, or routines
- Physical symptoms like headaches, nausea, or trouble sleeping
These patterns often feel isolating. But there are ways you can start to feel better.
Trauma and OCD Therapist Treatment Approaches
Good therapy meets you where you are, and offers tools to help you manage both the past and the present. Here are some treatment techniques that can help with trauma and OCD.
1. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
ERP helps you learn to face triggers without performing compulsions. It’s hard work, but it teaches your brain that the fear doesn’t have to win.
2. Trauma-Focused CBT
CBT helps you spot the patterns, then challenge the ones that are keeping you stuck. With a trauma lens, it also helps rebuild your sense of safety and self-trust.
3. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
EMDR works well when OCD loops are tied to specific memories. It reduces the emotional intensity, making it easier to step out of the trauma-OCD cycle.
4. Online Trauma Therapy
If starting therapy in-person feels too overwhelming, online trauma therapy can be a flexible and private way to begin. At Embrace Now, we help people like you every day.
You’re Not Broken. You’re Adapting.
There’s a reason your brain developed these patterns. OCD and trauma responses often start as survival tools from your past. Therapy is about finding better tools for your future.
Book a free consultation to talk with someone who gets it. We’re here when you’re ready. At Embrace Now, our ocd therapist for co-occurring trauma and OCD take a personalized approach to care. We take time to understand your story, then create a plan that works for you.
Read More From Embrace Now
- Important Reminders for Anxious Thoughts
- Relationship OCD Therapy: Signs, Treatment & Healing
- What are Coping Skills?
FAQs About Trauma and OCD
Can trauma cause OCD?
Yes. While trauma doesn’t always cause OCD, it often plays a role, especially when safety and control feel lost. OCD can emerge as a coping strategy.
Can OCD be caused by trauma?
In some cases, yes. Trauma can also exacerbate OCD. The obsessive thoughts and compulsions may center on the trauma itself or the fear of something similar happening again.
Is it possible to fully recover from OCD and trauma?
With the right trauma and ocd therapist, yes. Recovery doesn’t always mean zero symptoms, but it does mean less fear, fewer compulsions, and more peace.
What type of therapy works for both OCD and trauma?
An integrated approach works best. We often use a blend of ERP, CBT, ACT, and more, depending on your needs and goals. A trauma-informed OCD therapist can help you navigate both safely.
