Depression is a painful mental illness where individuals experience intense feelings of sadness, despair and guilt. These feelings of sadness affect the normal functioning of the individual and often those suffering from depression are not able to find any joy in activities that at one point of time used to be pleasurable. Obsessive compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder that causes repeated compulsive behaviors and obsessive thoughts among people. In ocd depression may be experienced.

There are some common symptoms associated with both ocd and depression and these include feelings of guilt, low self esteem, tiredness, anxiety and inability to take decisions. In many cases of ocd depression may be recognized as a complication. In many cases ocd and depression seem to be inseparable. However in some cases the symptoms of ocd may be in remission and the symptoms related to depression may be recurring. In adults both depression as well as ocd can be found in many cases and the occurrence of the same in children or adolescents is rare.

In cases of ocd depression it is often difficult to determine whether the depression is resulting in the ocd getting worse or whether the ocd is responsible for the worsening of the depression. In many cases both these conditions influence each other. Stress is also an important factor and the continuous stress encountered and experienced in ocd can trigger depression.

In some cases of ocd depression the depressive episodes may be so severe that they may make the individuals obsess less about performing the rituals to the utmost perfection. This is because the individuals may not have the energy or may simply not care enough. In most cases the medication for ocd is capable of tackling the ocd as well as the depression. The treatment is quite effective and around 85% of patients tend to respond to the treatment.

In some cases of depression electroconvulsive therapy may be used for treatment but this form of treatment is not effective in treating ocd. Along with medication psychotherapy can be effectively used. In psychotherapy the factors triggering obsessive thoughts can be identified and negative thinking can be replaced with positive thinking.