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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychiatric illness characterized by agonizing and intrusive obsessions and repetitive, time-consuming compulsions.
Obsessions are thoughts, images, or impulses that occur over and over again and feel out of one’s control. These are not simply excessive concerns about every day problems. Some common obsessions are:
- Fear of dirt or germs
- Concern with order, symmetry, or exactness
- Thoughts about harming someone
- Constant need for reassurance
- Sexually disturbing thoughts
- Frequent thoughts about particular sounds, images, words, or numbers
Compulsions are behaviors one performs over and over again, often according to certain rules or guidelines. Some common compulsions are:
- Excessive cleaning or washing (i.e., washing hands repeatedly, brushing teeth again and again)
- Checking (i.e., checking over and over if the stove is turned off, going back again and again to see if the door is locked)
- Arranging items in a particular fashion
- Seeking constant reassurance
- Repeating a particular behavior (i.e., going in and out of a door a certain number of times, standing up and sitting back down in a chair several times)
- Saving old items, such as newspapers, mail, or trash, when they are not needed
- Counting again and again to a particular number
People with OCD experience intrusive and disturbing obsessions, though they usually recognize that these symptoms do not make sense. Even when the person tries to resist the obsessions, he or she often has difficulty controlling them. OCD individuals typically try to control, or "neutralize", their obsessions by performing compulsions. For example, someone with an excessive fear of germs or contamination may attempt to alleviate this anxiety by washing his or her hands for several hours a day. Such behaviors can be extremely time-consuming and usually only provide temporary relief to the OCD sufferer’s anxiety. Routines, rituals, habits, anxieties, and worries are a part of everyone's life, but they can become troublesome if the obsessions or compulsions occur so frequently that they interfere with a person’s normal ability to function. In this case, a diagnosis of OCD is warranted.
A person can develop OCD at any age, though the majority has an age of onset before age 25. In a study by Rasmussen and Eisen (1992) it was found that about one-third of participants developed symptoms before age 15, about two-thirds had an age of onset before age 25, and fewer than 15% had an age of onset after age 35. The average age of onset was 21 years old for men and 22 years old for women.
How Can I Tell If I Have OCD?
The following questions may help to determine whether you might have OCD. Please note that these questions cannot provide you with a final diagnosis of OCD.
- Do you have recurrent thoughts that are difficult to control even when you try not to think about them? (i.e., aggressive thoughts, religious thoughts, sexual thoughts)
- If yes: Do you think you have those thoughts more than you ought to or more than makes sense?
- Are there any things that you have to do over and over again and can’t resist doing, like counting up to a certain number, washing your hands very often, or checking something to make sure that you have done it correctly?
- If yes: Do you think you perform these behaviors more than you ought to or more than makes sense?
A number of other disorders are closely related to or resemble OCD. Body dysmorphic disorder (excessive concern with appearance), trichotillomania (compulsive hair-pulling), and other impulse control disorders, such as nail biting and skin picking, are referred to as the OC-spectrum disorders. These disorders are the ones most closely related to OCD and can frequently be treated using the same or similar techniques or medications as are used for OCD. Also, OCD is typically accompanied by depression. In addition, Tourette Syndrome/tic disorders can closely resemble some obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Thus, it is important to be able to distinguish between the disorders.
The OCD Clinic & Research Unit aims to inform the public, advance research, and provide state-of-the-art care and treatment for individuals with OCD and related disorders.
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