Practice
Is it OCD, or is it me?
Repetition can look alike from outside and feel very different inside. OCD is more common in autistic and ADHD people, but autistic interests and routines are not OCD.
The worksheet, as designed. The same content is written out below.
The sheet lays four kinds of repetition side by side on a line that runs from "feels like part of me" (Special interests, Routines & stims) to "feels unwanted or stuck" (OCD obsessions & compulsions, Rumination).
Special interests
- How it feels: Part of me. I'm drawn in.
- Emotion around it: Joy, curiosity, flow.
- If I have to stop: Disappointed, but okay.
- What it's for: Joy, learning, rest, connection.
- What helps: Time for it, and people who get it.
Routines & stims
- How it feels: Part of me. Familiar and steadying.
- Emotion around it: Calm, comfort, safety.
- If I have to stop: Unsettled, more so with sudden change.
- What it's for: Regulating my body, senses and energy.
- What helps: Protecting them; notice before changes.
OCD obsessions & compulsions
- How it feels: An intruder. Thoughts that clash with who I am.
- Emotion around it: Fear, doubt, disgust, or "not right."
- If I have to stop: Dread that something bad will happen.
- What it's for: Making fear or doubt go away, for now.
- What helps: Naming the loop. ERP therapy, ND-affirming.
Rumination
- How it feels: Stuck on replay. The same worry, over and over.
- Emotion around it: Heavy: worry, guilt, sadness.
- If I have to stop: Hard to switch off. My mind drifts back.
- What it's for: Trying to solve it, but it rarely lands.
- What helps: Grounding, movement, talking it through.
Research with autistic adults found autistic repetition tends to feel like "part of me," while OCD feels like "an intruder" driven by fear (Long, Cooper & Russell, 2024). Everyone's mix is different.
Quick check
Mark where it sits for you, today.
Does it feel like me, or like an intruder?
Is it driven by joy and regulation, or by fear?
Does my life feel bigger or smaller with it?
Any mix is possible: someone can have special interests, stims and OCD. This is for education, not diagnosis: a clinician who knows neurodivergence can help untangle which is which.
Any mix is possible: someone can have special interests, stims and OCD. This is for education, not diagnosis: a clinician who knows neurodivergence can help untangle which is which. In crisis in the US? Call or text 988.
Sources and credits. Research with autistic adults found autistic repetition tends to feel like "part of me," while OCD feels like "an intruder" driven by fear (Long, Cooper & Russell, 2024). Everyone's mix is different.