Anxiety or OCD? How to Tell the Difference (and When to Seek OCD Therapy in Washington)

There’s a difference between wandering and being stuck. Understanding your mind is the first step toward clarity.

You feel anxious — constantly. Your mind loops through worries, what-ifs, and worst-case scenarios. You might avoid things that trigger discomfort, seek reassurance, or spend hours stuck in your head analyzing every thought.

But is it anxiety? Or is it OCD?

As a therapist specializing in Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), I often hear clients across Washington say, “I didn’t even know I had OCD. I just thought I had really intense anxiety.”

The truth? The two often look alike — but understanding the difference can help you get the right kind of support.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a normal human emotion. It becomes a problem when it’s persistent, intense, and starts interfering with daily life.

With generalized anxiety, the worry is often:

• About real-life situations (school, work, health)

• Broad and varied (many different themes)

• Paired with physical symptoms (racing heart, tight chest, fatigue)

You might:

• Overthink decisions

• Struggle to relax or “turn off” your brain

• Avoid situations that feel overwhelming

• Seek reassurance to calm your fears

What is OCD

OCD is an anxiety disorder, but it involves a specific cycle:

1. Obsessions – intrusive, unwanted thoughts or fears

2. Compulsions – mental or physical rituals done to relieve the anxiety caused by the obsessions

These can be:

• Fear-based (e.g. “What if I lose control and hurt someone?”)

• Doubt-based (e.g. “What if I hit someone with my car and didn’t notice?”)

• Morality-based (e.g. “What if I’m secretly a bad person?”)

The compulsions might be visible (repeating, checking) or completely internal (replaying, analyzing, “neutralizing” thoughts)

Key Differences Between Anxiety and OCD

	Anxiety	OCD
Focus of Worry	Real-life concerns (grades, work, relationships)	Often irrational, bizarre, or ego-dystonic fears
Thoughts	Ongoing, but feel like your own	Intrusive, unwanted, feel distressing or out of place
Relief Strategies	Avoidance, distraction, reassurance	Rituals/compulsions to "undo" or prevent something
Mental Loops	Worry about what might happen	Obsession with needing certainty or stopping harm
Insight	“This is stressful, but realistic”	“This doesn’t make sense, but I have to be sure”

What about when it feels like both?

It’s totally normal to have both — in fact, many people with OCD also experience generalized anxiety. The difference lies in how your thoughts operate, not just how you feel.

• Do your thoughts feel stuck?

• Do you feel the need to do something to feel relief (even mentally)?

• Do you find yourself avoiding things that don’t seem “logical” to others?

If yes, OCD might be part of the picture — even if it doesn’t look like the stereotypes.

What Therapy Can Do

The good news? Both anxiety and OCD are highly treatable, especially with the right approach.

I use:

• CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) to help untangle thought patterns and build coping strategies

• ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) to treat OCD at its core by reducing compulsions and building tolerance to uncertainty

• Inferential-Based CBT (I-CBT) to help clients recognize when their fears are rooted in imagined possibilities rather than evidence, and to rebuild trust in their senses, reasoning, and lived experience

• Mindfulness to reduce mental clutter and build present-moment resilience

  
  

Whether you’re unsure what you’re dealing with, or you’ve been stuck in anxious loops for years, therapy can help you understand your mind — and build tools to take control back.

Let's Work Together - Wherever You Are in Washington

I offer online therapy across Washington for teens, young adults, and parents navigating anxiety, OCD, and high-achieving stress. Together, we’ll find clarity and calm — no matter what your thoughts are telling you.

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