Obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders are both associated with overwhelming psychological distress and maladaptive behaviors. But there are several key differences between OCD vs. anxiety.
At North Atlanta Behavioral Health, we take a personalized approach to help adults experience true and lasting relief from the symptoms of OCD and anxiety disorders.
Learn more about treatment for OCD and anxiety in Atlanta or verify your insurance now.
Understanding OCD
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a widely misunderstood condition that is characterized by intrusive unwanted thoughts and overwhelming behavioral urges.
What Are the Symptoms of OCD?
As the condition’s full name suggests, OCD can cause two types of symptoms:
- Obsessions: These are recurrent, intrusive thoughts and mental images that a person is unable to suppress or ignore.
- Compulsions: These are physical behaviors or mental acts that a person feels forced to perform in order to achieve momentary psychological relief or to prevent something bad from happening.
Examples of obsessions include:
- Fear of becoming contaminated
- Fear that you will intentionally or unintentionally harm someone, such as by suddenly swerving your car into oncoming traffic or onto the sidewalk
- Recurrent unwanted thoughts of a violent, sexual, or blasphemous nature
- Being afraid that you will suddenly blurt out something obscene or otherwise offensive when you’re with other people
- Becoming consumed by unnecessary doubts about your relationships
Compulsions due to OCD can include:
- Repeatedly washing your hands or showering much more often than is necessary
- Needing to turn a light on and off, or lock and unlock a door multiple times, before you can leave a room or exit your house
- Mentally repeating certain words, phrases, or numbers over and over again
- Feeling forced to rearrange items until they are organized symmetrically or placed in the “right” order
- Having to frequently ask others for reassurance that you’re inherently a good person or that you haven’t done something wrong
Key characteristics of both obsessions and compulsions is that they are intrusive, unwanted, and sources of significant emotional pain. In the case of obsessions, they may also take up a significant amount of time.
What is the Prevalence of OCD?
Millions of people are affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder, though estimates of the true prevalence of this condition don’t always align with diagnostic records.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has reported the following about the prevalence of OCD among adults in the U.S.:
- About 2.3% of adults in the U.S. will develop OCD at some point in their lifetime.
- About 1.2% of U.S. adults had OCD in the previous 12 months.
- The past-year rate of OCD is more than three times higher among women (1.8%) than among men (0.5%)
- 50.6% of adults who are diagnosed with OCD meet the criteria for serious impairment as scored on the Sheehan Disability Scale.
The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) reports a similar past-year rate of OCD, but a 2025 report from the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) found that far fewer patients are actually being diagnosed with the condition.
According to the IOCDF report, a review of health records from 10.4 million patients found that 53,316 (0.51%) had been diagnosed with OCD. The report interprets this to mean that a significant percentage of people with OCD are not receiving accurate diagnoses.
The IOCDF report also noted that only about 19% of people who were diagnosed with OCD were receiving appropriate treatment for the disorder.
Types of Anxiety
Though we often think of anxiety as a single emotion, the term can actually refer to a variety of mental health conditions.
The seven anxiety disorders in the DSM-5 are:
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD): Severe, disproportionate worry or apprehension that is present most days and not limited to a single cause. In addition to being unable to control their fear or worry, people with GAD may also experience restlessness, persistent exhaustion, irritability, muscle tension, and difficulty concentrating or focusing.
- Panic disorder: Sudden onset of intense emotional distress and physical symptoms that can cause a person to believe they have “lost their mind” or are about to die.
- Social anxiety disorder (social phobia): Powerful fear of situations where you might be scrutinized, judged negatively, or rejected. Circumstances that can trigger symptoms include giving a presentation, dining in a restaurant, or meeting new people.
- Separation anxiety disorder: Severe distress when away from an attachment figure, which is typically a parent but can also be a partner, child, or other important person. Often fueled by fears that the person will be involved in an incident that leads to their death or causes a permanent separation.
- Agoraphobia: Excessive worry about being is places where they cannot easily escape or summon help. Symptoms can be triggered by being on public transportation, among a crowd, in an enclosed or wide-open space, or even outside their house on their own.
- Specific phobia: Excessive anxiety and panic-like symptoms triggered by certain objects or circumstances, such as spiders, snakes, heights, receiving an injection, or flying in a plane.
- Selective mutism: Refusal or failure to speak in certain situations, but not exhibiting this reluctance in other circumstances. This is a rare type of anxiety disorder that is only diagnosed in children.
Panic Attacks + Panic Disorder Symptoms
Several anxiety disorders can also cause panic attacks. If a person has multiple panic attacks that aren’t related to another condition, they may be diagnosed with panic disorder.
Panic attacks involve the abrupt onset of symptoms such as:
- Racing heart rate
- Chest pain
- Excessive perspiration
- Trembling or shaking
- Difficulty catching your breath
- Sense of being choked
- Stomach pain and/or nausea
- Dizziness
- Hot flashes and chills
- Numbness or tingling, usually in the hands and feet
- Dissociation, which can involve the sense that you’ve become detached from your mind and body or that you’re in an unreal environment
- Fear that you have lost control and may be “going crazy”
- Fear that you may be about to die
Anxiety Disorder Statistics
Several sources, including the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have reported that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illnesses among people in the U.S.
Anxiety-related statistics from the ADAA include:
- In a typical year, about 19.1% of adults (or nearly one of every five people ages 18 and above) will have symptoms of an anxiety disorder.
- About 3.1% of adults have GAD.
- About 2.7% of adults have panic disorder.
- GAD and panic disorder both occur about twice as often among women than among men.
- Specific phobias affect about 9.1% of the U.S. population.
- About 7.1% of adults have social anxiety disorder.
- An ADAA-sponsored survey found that about one-third of people with social anxiety disorder had symptoms for at least 10 years before they sought treatment.
According to WHO, anxiety disorders affect about 4.4% of the global population in a typical year. When this post was written, the world’s population was slightly above 8.2 billion. This means that around 360 million people are currently dealing with an anxiety disorder.
OCD vs. Anxiety: Similarities & Differences
Key areas of comparison between OCD vs. anxiety include their classification, symptoms, effects, and treatability.
DSM Classification
Prior to the publication of the DSM-5 in 2013, OCD was classified as an anxiety disorder. This is no longer the case. One of the revisions in the fifth edition was to establish a category called Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders.
In addition to OCD, other disorders in that section include:
- Body dysmorphic disorder
- Hoarding disorder
- Trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder)
- Excoriation (skin-picking) disorder
Symptoms of Both Disorders
Both types of disorders can cause people to experience excessive, disproportionate fear. But the nature and impact of this fear can differ between people with OCD vs. anxiety.
For many anxiety disorders, such as agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobia, symptoms are triggered by external influences. When a person isn’t exposed to their triggers, they’re unlikely to have symptoms.
This is not the case for most people with OCD. With a few exceptions, the intrusive thoughts they experience and the repetitive behaviors they feel compelled to perform aren’t contingent on what’s occurring in their environment.
Though performing OCD-related compulsions can provide temporary relief, the urges and fears that they’re associated with will soon resume, regardless of external influences.
Negative Effects of Untreated Anxiety and OCD
In the absence of effective treatment, OCD and anxiety can both have a highly disruptive impact on virtually every part of a person’s life.
These conditions can undermine a person’s ability to function to their full potential at home, in school, at work, and in social situations. They can also cause people to alter their behaviors in an attempt to escape their emotional distress.
Treatment Options for OCD & Anxiety
One positive similarity between OCD vs. anxiety is that both types of conditions are treatable.
Depending on the nature and intensity of a person’s symptoms, effective care may include prescription medication and various therapeutic interventions. There’s no single technique or program that is ideal for everyone who has either OCD or an anxiety disorder, which underscores the importance of finding a provider who will develop a truly customized treatment plan that reflects your unique history, needs, preferences, and expectations.
Learn More About Treatment for OCD & Anxiety in Atlanta
North Atlanta Behavioral Health provides personalized outpatient care for adults with OCD, anxiety disorders, and other mental health concerns. We also offer dual diagnosis programming for clients with co-occurring addictions.
Treatment options at our outpatient center in Atlanta, GA, include partial hospitalization program (PHP) and an intensive outpatient program (IOP). In both environments, you can expect to work in close collaboration with a team of experienced and dedicated professionals.
Call 770-230-5699 today to learn more or verify your insurance now.
