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If being diagnosed withobsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD) isn’t challenging enough, imagine how it would feel to be faced with a separate mental disorder that affects your very ability to think, feel, or behave rationally.

Schizophreniais a serious mental disorder, and it’s estimated that as many as 25% of people with schizophrenia also experience obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS). About 12% fulfill the diagnostic criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder.Schizophrenia and OCD are entirely independent of each other, both in their cause and symptoms, but share characteristics that place some individuals at higher risk of both.

Understanding Schizophrenia

There are many differenttypes of schizophrenia, some of which may be experienced withextreme paranoidand other with anunresponsive (catatonic) state. People with schizophrenia often have great difficulty in establishing and maintaining relationships as they struggle with distortions of reality and are less able to connect thought cohesively.

Less than one percent of the world population is diagnosed with schizophrenia.It is a major cause of disability in the U.S. with 85% of those affected unable to maintain employment. Suicide rates are high among people with schizophrenia, about 12 times greater than that of the general population.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact theNational Suicide Prevention Lifelineat988for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.

OCD and Schizophrenia Causes

While the causes for the association remain unclear, OCD and schizophrenia do share a number of key similarities. Both disorders tend to manifest with symptoms around the end of adolescence.

Interestingly, people who have been diagnosed with both conditions commonly reportOCD symptomsas their first sign of mental illness with symptoms usually appearing in the early teens.

The disorders are also associated with imbalances in serotonin and dopamine, the nerve-transmitting chemicals that regulates everything from your emotional state to memory and sleep. They also share links to a specific genetic mutation (known as SLC1A1) which predisposes some individuals to these illnesses, and is more likely to co-occur in individuals with high levels of consanguinity.

On the flip side, the use of certainatypical antipsychotic drugshas been known to cause OCD symptoms in some people with schizophrenia. Antipsychotics, which are typically used to treat schizophrenia, can also be used to treat OCD in cases that are otherwise unresponsive to the usual medication treatments.

While no single factor can be considered the “cause” of OCD or schizophrenia, it is believed that a combination of genetic, environmental, and neurobiological factors may, in fact, contribute.

Comparing Delusions and Obsessions

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9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hudak R. International OCD Foundation.Schizophrenia and OCD: A Consideration of Schizo-Obsessive Disorder.Patel KR, Cherian J, Gohil K, Atkinson D.Schizophrenia: overview and treatment options. P T. 2014;39(9):638-45.National Institute on Mental Health.Schizophrenia.World Health Organization.Information Sheet - Premature death among people with severe mental disorders.Schirmbeck F, Zink M.Comorbid obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schizophrenia: contributions of pharmacological and genetic factors.Front Pharmacol. 2013;4:99. doi:10.3389/fphar.2013.00099Afshari P, Myles-worsley M, Cohen OS, et al.Characterization of a Novel Mutation in SLC1A1 Associated with Schizophrenia.Mol Neuropsychiatry. 2015;1(3):125-44. doi:10.1159/000433599Sharma LP, Reddy YCJ.Obsessive-compulsive disorder comorbid with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S140-S148. doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_527_18Moran P, Stokes J, Marr J, et al.Gene × Environment Interactions in Schizophrenia: Evidence from Genetic Mouse Models.Neural Plast. 2016;2016:2173748. doi:10.1155/2016/2173748Rodriguez CI, Corcoran C, Simpson HB.Diagnosis and treatment of a patient with both psychotic and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.Am J Psychiatry. 2010;167(7):754-61. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09070997Additional ReadingBrisch R, Saniotis A, Wolf R, et al.The role of dopamine in schizophrenia from a neurobiological and evolutionary perspective: old fashioned, but still in vogue.Front Psychiatry. 2014;5:47. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00047Hengeveld M.The Atlantic.Job Hunting with Schizophrenia.

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hudak R. International OCD Foundation.Schizophrenia and OCD: A Consideration of Schizo-Obsessive Disorder.Patel KR, Cherian J, Gohil K, Atkinson D.Schizophrenia: overview and treatment options. P T. 2014;39(9):638-45.National Institute on Mental Health.Schizophrenia.World Health Organization.Information Sheet - Premature death among people with severe mental disorders.Schirmbeck F, Zink M.Comorbid obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schizophrenia: contributions of pharmacological and genetic factors.Front Pharmacol. 2013;4:99. doi:10.3389/fphar.2013.00099Afshari P, Myles-worsley M, Cohen OS, et al.Characterization of a Novel Mutation in SLC1A1 Associated with Schizophrenia.Mol Neuropsychiatry. 2015;1(3):125-44. doi:10.1159/000433599Sharma LP, Reddy YCJ.Obsessive-compulsive disorder comorbid with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S140-S148. doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_527_18Moran P, Stokes J, Marr J, et al.Gene × Environment Interactions in Schizophrenia: Evidence from Genetic Mouse Models.Neural Plast. 2016;2016:2173748. doi:10.1155/2016/2173748Rodriguez CI, Corcoran C, Simpson HB.Diagnosis and treatment of a patient with both psychotic and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.Am J Psychiatry. 2010;167(7):754-61. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09070997Additional ReadingBrisch R, Saniotis A, Wolf R, et al.The role of dopamine in schizophrenia from a neurobiological and evolutionary perspective: old fashioned, but still in vogue.Front Psychiatry. 2014;5:47. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00047Hengeveld M.The Atlantic.Job Hunting with Schizophrenia.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Hudak R. International OCD Foundation.Schizophrenia and OCD: A Consideration of Schizo-Obsessive Disorder.Patel KR, Cherian J, Gohil K, Atkinson D.Schizophrenia: overview and treatment options. P T. 2014;39(9):638-45.National Institute on Mental Health.Schizophrenia.World Health Organization.Information Sheet - Premature death among people with severe mental disorders.Schirmbeck F, Zink M.Comorbid obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schizophrenia: contributions of pharmacological and genetic factors.Front Pharmacol. 2013;4:99. doi:10.3389/fphar.2013.00099Afshari P, Myles-worsley M, Cohen OS, et al.Characterization of a Novel Mutation in SLC1A1 Associated with Schizophrenia.Mol Neuropsychiatry. 2015;1(3):125-44. doi:10.1159/000433599Sharma LP, Reddy YCJ.Obsessive-compulsive disorder comorbid with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S140-S148. doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_527_18Moran P, Stokes J, Marr J, et al.Gene × Environment Interactions in Schizophrenia: Evidence from Genetic Mouse Models.Neural Plast. 2016;2016:2173748. doi:10.1155/2016/2173748Rodriguez CI, Corcoran C, Simpson HB.Diagnosis and treatment of a patient with both psychotic and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.Am J Psychiatry. 2010;167(7):754-61. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09070997

Hudak R. International OCD Foundation.Schizophrenia and OCD: A Consideration of Schizo-Obsessive Disorder.

Patel KR, Cherian J, Gohil K, Atkinson D.Schizophrenia: overview and treatment options. P T. 2014;39(9):638-45.

National Institute on Mental Health.Schizophrenia.

World Health Organization.Information Sheet - Premature death among people with severe mental disorders.

Schirmbeck F, Zink M.Comorbid obsessive-compulsive symptoms in schizophrenia: contributions of pharmacological and genetic factors.Front Pharmacol. 2013;4:99. doi:10.3389/fphar.2013.00099

Afshari P, Myles-worsley M, Cohen OS, et al.Characterization of a Novel Mutation in SLC1A1 Associated with Schizophrenia.Mol Neuropsychiatry. 2015;1(3):125-44. doi:10.1159/000433599

Sharma LP, Reddy YCJ.Obsessive-compulsive disorder comorbid with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S140-S148. doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_527_18

Moran P, Stokes J, Marr J, et al.Gene × Environment Interactions in Schizophrenia: Evidence from Genetic Mouse Models.Neural Plast. 2016;2016:2173748. doi:10.1155/2016/2173748

Rodriguez CI, Corcoran C, Simpson HB.Diagnosis and treatment of a patient with both psychotic and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.Am J Psychiatry. 2010;167(7):754-61. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09070997

Brisch R, Saniotis A, Wolf R, et al.The role of dopamine in schizophrenia from a neurobiological and evolutionary perspective: old fashioned, but still in vogue.Front Psychiatry. 2014;5:47. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00047Hengeveld M.The Atlantic.Job Hunting with Schizophrenia.

Brisch R, Saniotis A, Wolf R, et al.The role of dopamine in schizophrenia from a neurobiological and evolutionary perspective: old fashioned, but still in vogue.Front Psychiatry. 2014;5:47. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00047

Hengeveld M.The Atlantic.Job Hunting with Schizophrenia.

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