What Is
OCD?
From The Foundation:
“There is a public misconception that obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is just a minor personality quirk or preference and that everyone is ‘a little bit OCD.’ In reality, OCD is a serious and often debilitating mental health disorder that affects people of all ages and walks of life, and occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions.
Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that trigger intensely distressing feelings. Compulsions are behaviors an individual engages in to attempt to get rid of the obsessions and/or decrease distress.
Most people have obsessive thoughts and/or compulsive behaviors at some point in their lives, but that does not mean that we all have “some OCD.” In order for a diagnosis of OCD to be made, this cycle of obsessions and compulsions must be so extreme that it consumes a lot of time (more than an hour every day), causes intense distress, or gets in the way of important activities that the person values.“
Obsessions
Obsessions are thoughts, images, or impulses that occur over and over again and feel outside of the person’s control. Individuals with OCD do not want to have these thoughts and find them disturbing. In most cases, people with OCD have some insight — they realize that these thoughts are illogical.
Obsessions are typically accompanied by intense and uncomfortable feelings such as fear, disgust, uncertainty, and/or doubt, or a feeling that things have to be done in a way that is “just right.”
In the context of OCD, obsessions are time-consuming and get in the way of important activities the person values.
Compulsions
Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or thoughts that a person uses to neutralize or counteract the obsession — essentially to try and make their obsessions go away.
People with OCD realize this is only a temporary solution, but without a better way to cope, they rely on compulsions nonetheless.
Compulsions can also include avoiding situations that trigger obsessions. They are time-consuming and get in the way of important activities the person values.
Common Obsessions in OCD
Obsessions in OCD can surround a variety of fears and subsets. This can include, but is not limited to, preoccupation with:
- Contamination (physical and emotional)
- Existential obsessions
- Harm (to self or others)
- Hoarding
- Identity
- Moral and religious scrupulosity
- Perfectionism
- Perinatal obsessions
- Real event and false memory obsessions
- Relationship obsessions
- Symmetry and just-right obsessions
Common Compulsions in OCD
Washing and Cleaning
- Washing hands excessively or in a certain way
- Excessive showering, bathing, tooth-brushing, grooming, or toilet routines
- Cleaning household items or other objects excessively
- Doing other things to prevent or remove contact with contaminants
Checking That:
- You did not/will not harm others
- You did not/will not harm yourself
- Nothing terrible happened
- You did not make a mistake
- Some parts of your physical condition or body
Repeating:
- Routine activities (e.g., going in or out doors, getting up or down from chairs)
- Body movements (e.g., tapping, touching, blinking)
- Activities in “multiples” (e.g., doing a task three times because three is a “good,” “right,” “safe” number)
Mental Compulsions
- Mental review of events to prevent harm (to oneself others, to prevent terrible consequences)
- Praying to prevent harm (to oneself others, to prevent terrible consequences)
- Counting while performing a task to end on a “good,” “right,” or “safe” number
- “Cancelling” or “Undoing” (example: replacing a “bad” word with a “good” word to cancel it out)
Other Compulsions
- Putting things in order or arranging things until it “feels right”
- Telling, asking, or confessing to get reassurance
- Avoiding situations that might trigger your obsessions
About The IOCDF
From the foundation: “The IOCDF is the leading authority on obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders. As the largest 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in this space, we are dedicated to serving a broad community of individuals around the world along with their family members, loved ones, mental health professionals, and researchers. What started as a small group seeking mutual support in 1986 has grown into an international organization with Affiliates in 33 U.S. states in addition to global partnerships with other OCD organizations and mental health non-profits around the world.”