Sep 13, 2026 · 3 min · 7 segments
OCD and autism can look surprisingly similar from the outside, especially when it comes to rigid routines and repetitive behaviors. But the reason behind the behavior can be very different: someone…
Patrick McGrathHost
Someone with autism may prefer eating the same breakfast every morning because that routine feels comfortable, but someone with OCD may feel that they must eat the same breakfast or else something terrible will happen.
They're performed to reduce distress or neutralize some kind of intrusive thought or image or urge that somebody has, and the hope is that it will prevent something bad from happening.
In autism, these routines and repetitive behaviors could be things like stimming, and these can often provide comfort or help to regulate emotions or sensory input for people who have autism.
Autistic special interests are generally enjoyable and fulfilling, but I don't meet people with OCD who say that obsessions are the same.
Obsessions are unwanted, they're distressing, and they're often difficult to move on from.
Someone with autism may prefer eating the same breakfast every morning because that routine feels comfortable, but someone with OCD may feel that they must eat the same breakfast or else something terrible will happen.
They're performed to reduce distress or neutralize some kind of intrusive thought or image or urge that somebody has, and the hope is that it will prevent something bad from happening.
In autism, these routines and repetitive behaviors could be things like stimming, and these can often provide comfort or help to regulate emotions or sensory input for people who have autism.
Autistic special interests are generally enjoyable and fulfilling, but I don't meet people with OCD who say that obsessions are the same.
Obsessions are unwanted, they're distressing, and they're often difficult to move on from.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.
