Can Traumatic Hallucinations Cause OCD?

There are some experiences that leave scars that you can never heal from. There are traumas that will continue to haunt your every waking moment.

Imagine if these traumas come in the form of hallucinations?

I know what I saw

Four years ago, a mixed combination caused by narcolepsy symptoms and the medication intended to relieve them had unforeseeable and lasting repercussions. Let me take you back to October 2019 and paint you the scene I relive again and again in my mind to this day.

As I stood in the room I would soon no longer call my own, I remained gaze fixated on the open book in my hands, examining every inch. If I had spared even a glance out of the corner of my eye, I would have seen the worried look on my sister’s face.

“Are you sure, Iris?” she asked hesitantly.

Not lifting my eyes from the book, I responded confidently, my voice denoting annoyance at her repeated question, “Yes! I’m not crazy!”

As I heard her footsteps exiting the room, I inwardly scoffed. Of course, I was sure! I know what I saw.

What my sister was questioning that day is a question that I have also asked myself every day since then.

She was asking if I was sure I'd seen bugs

The reason I left the house I loved, abandoned more than half of my belongings, and moved across the continent was something that might have been avoided had I really considered what she was asking that day.

My sister was asking me if I was sure that I really had seen bugs.

That day not only changed my life path but changed something inside me as well. Since that day, I have not been the same.

The hallucinations felt so real

If you have not realised by now, I left my entire life because I was hallucinating that there were insects inside my house. These hallucinations were so real that they managed to plague me for 4 consecutive days.

They were so real, so tangible, that nothing anyone said could sway me. I felt them all over my body. I saw them with my own eyes. I felt itchy for over 3 months following these events (even though I had moved to another continent!).

I can’t be sure, but I feel as though this trauma has caused me to develop something similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Am I experiencing symptoms of OCD?

This is the only way I can explain it. My skin feels hyper-sensitive, as though it feels every tiny little particle that even brushes past. My eyes can see even the smallest speck of dust floating in my surroundings, and it takes all my strength to try and ignore it. I spend most of my days trying to focus on anything but these maddening distractions that constantly torment me.

Is there a link between narcolepsy and OCD?

I have tried to find out whether there is any link between narcolepsy and OCD, but so far have not found any research remotely related to this subject. I also have tried to explore whether narcolepsy medications could lead to this, but again have been unsuccessful.

As far as I know, I have never heard of anyone else going through this. Has anyone else out there had a similar experience? Is it even possible that traumatic hallucinations are able to cause OCD?