Can Trauma Cause OCD? Yes, trauma can contribute to the development of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in some individuals. Untreated psychological trauma can profoundly affect a person’s mental health, potentially triggering or exacerbating OCD symptoms. This connection often stems from the way trauma impacts brain function and emotional regulation, creating patterns of intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors as coping mechanisms.
If you or a loved one are struggling with OCD, don’t wait—call us today or schedule a free assessment to take the first step toward healing and recovery.
What Is OCD?
Before exploring if trauma can cause OCD, it can be helpful to quickly review what we mean when we use the terms trauma and OCD. We’ll begin with OCD.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD, is a complex mental health condition that is characterized by two types of symptoms: obsessions and compulsions. Some people with OCD only have one type (which can be either obsessions or compulsions), while others have both.
Obsessions
Obsessions are recurrent, unwanted thoughts or mental images. Examples of common OCD-related obsessions include:
- Intense fear of becoming contaminated
- Worry that you will intentionally or accidentally harm yourself or someone else
- Disturbing obscene, blasphemous, or otherwise taboo mental images
- Fear of accidentally blurting out something profane or otherwise highly inappropriate when with other people
- Concern that you have forgotten to turn off a stove, lock a door, or performed some other household safety
- Rigid adherence to superstitions due to a deep fear that failing to comply will cause something terrible to happen
- Psychological distress when items are not arranged in a particular order
Compulsions
Compulsions are behaviors or mental acts that a person feels forced to perform. They may or may not be associated with specific obsessions. Examples include:
- Washing your hands or showering an excessive number of times, often to the point that your skin becomes irritated
- Needing to touch specific objects in a specific order before leaving a house or room
- Switching a light on and off several times, or locking, unlocking, and re-locking a door over and over again to ensure you have done the task correctly
- Repeating certain words, phrases, or number sequences, either out loud or mentally
- Frequently asking for reassurance from others
- Arranging and rearranging objects in a particular, rigidly defined order
Either alone or in combination, obsessions and compulsions can be sources of considerable distress. They can also be extremely time-consuming.
To meet the criteria for this condition as established in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), symptoms must occupy at least one hour of a person’s time each day. However, in severe cases, people with OCD may lose several hours every day as a result of their obsessions and/or compulsions.
What Is Trauma?
When used in a mental health context, trauma refers to long-lasting or particularly severe emotional pain that occurs in the aftermath of one or more extremely disturbing events.
Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are often associated with military combat. While warfare can absolutely be a precursor to trauma, it is far from the only type of situation or circumstance that can cause such a damaging reaction.
Other possible sources of trauma include:
- Sexual assaults
- Physical attacks
- Abuse or neglect during childhood
- Kidnappings
- Acts of terrorism
- Tornadoes, hurricanes, and other severe weather
- The sudden death of a loved one
- Serious illnesses
- Violent automobile accidents
In most but not all cases, events that precede psychological trauma either involve a death or cause an individual to believe that they or someone else are about to die.
People may develop psychological trauma after living through a horrific or life-threatening experience, witnessing such an event, or frequently being exposed to the aftermath of these types of occurrences. The latter can be a cause of trauma among firefighters, EMTs, and other first responders.
The harmful effects of untreated trauma can include:
- Substance use and addiction
- Excessive shame or guilt
- Drastic behavior changes to avoid reminders of the trauma
- Withdrawal and isolation
- Insomnia and disturbing nightmares
- Muscle tension, headaches, stomach aches, and other physical symptoms
- Sexual dysfunction
- Disrupted ability to focus, concentrate, or pay attention
- Outbursts of anger and aggression
- Anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns
The inclusion of “other mental health concerns” in the final point above bring us to the question posed at the top of this post: Can trauma cause OCD?
Can Trauma Cause OCD?
Research indicates that trauma can be a contributing factor both to the development of OCD and to the severity of the symptoms that a person experience. The link between trauma and OCD appears to be particularly strong when the trauma occurred during the individual’s childhood.
Does this mean that trauma can cause OCD? Not exactly. What it means is that trauma can be a risk factor for this condition. Identifying a single cause for a mental health disorder is highly unlikely. In the case of OCD, other risk factors include:
- Exposure to overwhelming stress
- Certain genetic variations
- Some inherited personality traits
- Having another mental health disorder
But let’s turn our attention back to the link between trauma and OCD.
According to a February 2024 article in the journal Medicina, “exposure to emotional, physical, and sexual abuse correlates with heightened symptoms of OCD overall, implying that various traumatic experiences contribute to the severity of symptoms.”
The authors of that article also noted that “exposure to childhood trauma is linked to increased symptoms across specific domains of OCD, including contamination, responsibility for harm, unacceptable thoughts, symmetry, aggression, sexual and religious obsessions, as well as ritualistic compulsions.”
The possibility of OCD being linked to untreated trauma underscores the importance of finding a treatment provider who will conduct a thorough review of your history and needs.
Treating OCD without addressing factors such as trauma may provide temporary relief, but such an approach may ultimately prove to be unsuccessful. To best prepare patients to achieve true and lasting healing, treatment should reflect the full scope of their needs, including untreated trauma and related concerns.
Find Treatment for Trauma and OCD in Atlanta
If you have been struggling with PTSD, other effects of untreated trauma, and/or OCD, Atlanta Integrative Psychiatry’s team is here for you.
At our OCD treatment center in Atlanta, you can take part in a dynamic array of customized outpatient services, all of which are provided by dedicated professionals within a safe and highly supportive environment. We understand the many ways that trauma and OCD can undermine your efforts to live a full and satisfying life, and we’re here to develop the personalized solutions that can help you achieve your immediate and long-term mental health goals.
To learn more or to schedule a free consultation, please visit our Appointments page or call us today.
