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Want a recipe for success? Step one visit ocdfamilypodcast.com courses step two click on my link to browse OCD Training School's amazing course catalog. Step three enroll. And step four enjoy learning with no added cost to you. You can support the OCD family community while grabbing some continuing education or learning how to bridge yourself to self help strategies for OCD. Again, that's ocdfamilypodcast.com courses. Use my special link to sign up today. Hi fam. Welcome back to the Water Cooler where we aim to quench some curiosity about common questions that impact OCD and OCRD warriors and their loved ones. And today we are talking about how some conditions can look like ocd, act like ocd, even overlap with OCD or trigger OCD like symptoms, but they're not the same thing. Curious to learn more? I'm glad. Just remember that this isn't therapy and this will essentially be a drive through understanding so that you can advocate for your loved ones and think is this OCD something else? Or maybe both. So first up we're going to talk about PANS and pandas. PANS stands for a pediatric Acute Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. And PANDAS is essentially when this condition is triggered by a strep infection. And if you're like strep, like strep throat, like strep throat that people get like every winter sometimes. Yep, that's the one. Because for some folks strep can cause a sudden intense OCD like symptom profile in kids. Think compulsions, food restrictions, even motor or vocal tics. Why? Well, it's actually an autoimmune condition and they're medical at the core, not psychiatric in origin. So the treatment for pans and pand often includes antibiotics and we're talking powerful and long term antibiotics, not just your amoxicillin twice a day for two weeks, anti inflammatory meds and sometimes immune based treatments like steroids or ivig. OCD therapies like Exposure and Response Prevention and inference based CBT can still help, but they're not enough alone because medical care is essential. And it's tricky because sometimes strep or these other kind of infections are don't look like strep. In fact you could say my whole household got strep. This child was the one who didn't. That doesn't mean that they didn't have strep. And it's hard to wrap your mind around. But going to the doctor and getting a test is the only way to validate even stress. And simple routine dental cleanings can trigger flares. But to that end, even though it is a pediatric acute onset, we have cases where where adults are like no, I have or have had pans or Pandas. So ultimately I guess age is nothing but a number. And if you have a sudden onset of OCD symptoms in your child or loved one in like a sudden unexplained irritability, separation anxiety, ocd, those tics we talked about before, maybe sudden hyperactivity, insomnia, oppositional behaviors, aggression, anxiety. Are you looking at your loved one and going oh my gosh, who is this person? They are absolutely different. They went to bed my child or my sibling or my parent and they woke up a different person. It's worth looking into pans or Pandas. Additionally, I was just speaking with a client this week about tick borne infections. I don't know about the region where you live, but tick populations are growing and bursting at the seams in my area. And you may have heard about something called Lyme disease, which is a very tricky and very difficult condition to treat. But there are also other tick borne infections such as Bartonella that can affect our nervous system and trigger psychiatric symptoms. Even ocd, like thoughts, rage, paranoia, panic, even motoric functioning like your ability to walk, suddenly it's like paralysis. This isn't just a product of anxiety and it's not all in their head though it is neuroinflammatory in nature. So treatment typically includes long term antibiotics or antimicrobials depending on chronicity, plus supportive care like anti inflammatories and sometimes even psychiatric meds. It's complex and it often needs a Lyme literate provider. Let me say it again for the people in the back, a Lyme literate provider. I was delighted to see an endocrinologist that we partner with here in town actually has a Lyme literate provider. But overall our resources are severely lacking. So if you jump on over to this episode's blog over@ocdfamilypodcast.com, i'm going to link resources for both Pans, Pandas and Lyme and tick borne illnesses because it's important to be informed and to ask these questions or request testing that can verify whether these are conditions that are impacting you or your loved one. Next on the docket. Eating Disorders Eating disorders can muddy the waters because a malnourished brain becomes obsessive, anxious and rigid. In those cases, what looks like ocd often improves once nutrition is restored. Another Reason root cause matters. But eating disorders also have a high comorbidity rate with anxiety disorders and even OCD specifically. I remember having a more in depth chat about this with Dr. Jenna DeLassi and Jenna Stone, so I'll link those episodes over on the blog. If you're curious about learning more about how eating disorders can mimic or even overlap with ocd, what I will say is in most cases if it's not ocd, then once nutrition is restored and nourishment is achieved, those OC symptoms dissipate or disappear completely. If they stick around, that is a good clue that OCD has also crashed the party. And lastly, a quick reminder that when OCD gets really loud or really severe, that intensity can be so confusing and sometimes even look like something like psychosis. Especially when those intrusive thoughts are based in harm, sexualized or existential themes. But there's a pretty key distinction when it comes to ocd. OCD is ego dystonic, meaning that the person does not value that, does not want that it's not in sync with their true intentions or desires. In fact, it's distressing af and that is why they are so amped up. And while true psychosis can absolutely still be distressing, it is more in line with what that person perceives and believes that reality testing gets blurred and they believe the struggles that they're experiencing. So of course that can bring distress. But it is different than the feared and imagined possibilities that we see in ocd. And if you're sitting there wondering, but can both occur? Yes, unfortunately both can occur. So what's a person to do? How can you or your loved one determine what's the bottom line here? Because similar behaviors and even thought processes can show up in very different conditions. Well, that's where finding your own team can be really helpful. And I emphasize and underscore team because for obsessive Compulsive disorder you need someone trained in treating ocd. That means they use Exposure and Response Prevention or erp. Or they treat using inference based CBT or icbt. Or maybe they even use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, otherwise known as act. But also in every one of these conditions, medical evaluation is essential. Pans and pandas need medical intervention. Tick borne illnesses need medical intervention. Malnutrition absolutely needs medical intervention. And if your OCD is so loud that you are experiencing psychotic like features, not able to sleep, not able to eat, not able to calm your nervous system down, you often at the very least need medication support. But really that comes from a proper medical evaluation. So while any of these conditions can overlap and co occur with ocd, sometimes it's not O C D. So be curious, seek a team for evaluation and know that you're not alone. There's support. There are amazing groups like when I think of our Pans and Pandas population, the parents are fierce advocates. It's so hard to see our loved ones battling intense, intense symptoms. But to the degree that we can slow down and build our team so that we alone don't have to figure it out, these can be really important pieces to the puzzle. So if you're curious in learning more about any of these conditions Again, check out ocdfamilypodcast.com for more information. And hang in there fam, because we've got this and we are better together. Hey practitioners, if you're looking to deepen your understanding of obsessive compulsive related disorders, check out the OCD Training School's amazing course catalog on emetophobia, what to do when you have co occurring eating disorders and OCD and process based therapy for BFRBs. Plus tons of OCD trainings and self help courses. Add that many of the trainings are apa, ASWB and NBCC CE eligible with both live and on demand options. I mean say less. So head on over to ocdfamilypodcast.com courses to learn more because when you use my special link you will be supporting the POD at no extra cost to you. So let's get to learning family because we are better together.