Understanding Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, PTSD, Social Anxiety, and OCD 

Do you worry about events that haven’t happened yet? Do you struggle to find joy in things you once did? Do you struggle with sleep, either sleeping too much or not enough? Do you perform rituals or routines to prevent bad things from happening? Do you ever have flashbacks of traumatic experiences? Do you avoid certain situations to prevent discomfort? If you resonate with any of these, you might be experiencing major depressive disorder (MDD), Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), Social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or a combination of any of these.

What are MDD, GAD, PTSD, social anxiety, and OCD?

MDD impacts mood and the desire to do things. Symptoms include sadness, apathy, inability to do things, weight change, sleep changes, feeling restless or slowed down, loss of energy, feeling worthless or guilty, trouble concentrating, and recurrent thoughts of death. According to the DSM-5, a diagnosis requires five of the above symptoms lasting at least two weeks.

GAD involves excessive, uncontrollable fear and worry about multiple aspects of daily life. Symptoms of GAD include restlessness, low energy, trouble concentrating, or mind going blank, irritability, muscle tension, and sleep problems. The anxiety must cause significant distress and not be related to other conditions or medications to be diagnosed.

Social anxiety is based on intense fear or discomfort in social interactions. These social interactions can be everyday experiences, such as making phone calls or talking to someone at the grocery store, but they can also include public speaking and job interviews. The anxiety stems from a fear of being judged or not accepted. Symptoms include blushing, sweating, trembling, rapid heart rate, difficulty concentrating, difficulty with eye contact, muscle tension, and avoiding social interactions. Individuals often expect bad outcomes of social situations and feel self-conscious.

PTSD develops when someone experiences or witnesses a traumatic event, which leads to persistent involuntary distressing memories, dreams, and flashbacks. People with PTSD tend to stay away from memories, thoughts, feelings, and situations that remind them of their traumatic event. They may hold negative beliefs about oneself, others, or the world, experience self-blame, difficulty feeling positive emotions or connecting with others, and lose interest in previously meaningful activities. Other symptoms include irritability, reckless behavior, hypervigilance, an exaggerated startle response, difficulty concentrating, and sleep disturbances. According to the DSM-5, diagnosis requires at one symptom form the recurent and avoidant categories as well as two form the changes to beliefs and reaction to activity.

OCD involves recurrent thoughts, urges, or images, and then behaviors to combat those thoughts. The recurrent thoughts, urges, or images are intrusive and unwanted and are called obsessions. Examples of obsessions include fears of contamination, harm to oneself or others, religious obsessions, or symmetry and exactness. To reduce anxiety caused by these obsessions, individuals do repetitive actions or mental rituals to neutralize them, called compulsions. Examples of compulsions are handwashing, checking, counting, or arranging. To diagnose OCD you need these symptoms, they are time-consuming and aren’t explained by other conditions or medications.

Overlap between MDD, GAD, PTSD, social anxiety, and OCD

All of these conditions have similar experiences, including:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Sleep problems
• Fatigue
• Unwanted thoughts
• Avoiding things
• Restlessness
• Difficulty managing emotions
• Negative feelings about yourself

Prevalence of Overlap between MDD, GAD, PTSD, Social Anxiety, and OCD

Prevalence rates vary widely, but there is a high likelihood that you might have more than one condition.

MDD and GAD have the highest comorbidity, indicating that 58% of individuals with anxiety meet criteria for GAD and vice versa. Among those with OCD, the prevalence of MDD ranges from 19-67%. About 60.4% of people with PTSD also have MDD. Roughly 18-20% of those with MDD also have social anxiety, and vice versa. Comorbidity of GAD with OCD and social anxiety is about 8-15%. OCD and GAD co-occur about 30% of the time. GAD co-occurs with social anxiety 8-16% of the time. Approximately 9.8% of people with PTSD also have GAD. OCD and social anxiety co-occur in about 18% of cases. Studies indicate that about 19-31% of individuals with PTSD have OCD. The prevalence of PTSD among those with social anxiety disorder ranges from 3% to 16%.

Suspecting You Have MDD, GAD, PTSD, Social Anxiety, and/or OCD: What comes next?

If you’re curious about MDD, GAD, PTSD, Social Anxiety, and OCD, looking for support, we’re here for you! Book a consultation with our compassionate team. We’re committed to making sure all minds feel seen, valued, and supported—just as they are.