Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)

This can be distressing and can have a big impact on your life. Treatment can help you keep it under control.



This pattern has 4 main steps:

Obsession – where an intrusive, distressing thought, image or urge repeatedly enters your mind. Anxiety – the obsession provokes a feeling of intense anxiety or distress. Compulsion – repetitive behaviours or mental acts that you feel you have to do as a result of the anxiety and distress caused by the obsession. Temporary relief – the compulsive behaviour brings temporary relief, but the obsession and anxiety return, causing the cycle to begin again.

Obsessive thoughts

Almost everyone has unpleasant or unwanted thoughts at some point in their life. This might be a concern that you’ve forgotten to lock the door of the house or that you might get a disease from touching other people. It could be sudden unwelcome violent or offensive mental images.

Most people are able to put these types of thoughts and concerns into context. They can then carry on with their day-to-day life. They do not repeatedly think about worries they know have little substance.

If you have persistent and unwanted thoughts that dominates your thinking, you may have developed an obsession.

Some common obsessions that affect people with OCD include:

fear of deliberately harming yourself or others – for example, fear you may attack someone else, even though this type of behaviour disgusts you fear of harming yourself or others by mistake or accident – for example, fear you may set the house on fire by accidentally leaving the cooker on fear of contamination by disease, infection or an unpleasant substance a need for symmetry or orderliness – for example, you may feel the need to ensure all the tins in your cupboard face the same way

Compulsive behaviour

Compulsions happen as a way of trying to reduce or prevent the harm of the obsessive thought. However, this behaviour is either excessive or not connected at all.

For example, a person who fears becoming contaminated with dirt and germs may wash their hands repeatedly. Or someone with a fear of causing harm to their family may have the urge to repeat an action multiple times to try to ‘neutralise’ the thought of harm. This type of compulsive behaviour is particularly common in children with OCD.

Most people with OCD realise that such compulsive behaviour is irrational. They might know it makes no logical sense, but they cannot stop acting on their compulsion.

Not all compulsive behaviours will be obvious to other people.

Symptoms

OCD affects people differently. It usually causes a particular pattern of thought and behaviour.

This pattern has 4 main steps:

Obsession – where an intrusive, distressing thought, image or urge repeatedly enters your mind. Anxiety – the obsession provokes a feeling of intense anxiety or distress. Compulsion – repetitive behaviours or mental acts that you feel you have to do as a result of the anxiety and distress caused by the obsession. Temporary relief – the compulsive behaviour brings temporary relief, but the obsession and anxiety return, causing the cycle to begin again.

Obsessive thoughts

Almost everyone has unpleasant or unwanted thoughts at some point in their life. This might be a concern that you’ve forgotten to lock the door of the house or that you might get a disease from touching other people. It could be sudden unwelcome violent or offensive mental images.

Most people are able to put these types of thoughts and concerns into context. They can then carry on with their day-to-day life. They do not repeatedly think about worries they know have little substance.

If you have persistent and unwanted thoughts that dominates your thinking, you may have developed an obsession.

Some common obsessions that affect people with OCD include:

fear of deliberately harming yourself or others – for example, fear you may attack someone else, even though this type of behaviour disgusts you fear of harming yourself or others by mistake or accident – for example, fear you may set the house on fire by accidentally leaving the cooker on fear of contamination by disease, infection or an unpleasant substance a need for symmetry or orderliness – for example, you may feel the need to ensure all the tins in your cupboard face the same way

Compulsive behaviour

Compulsions happen as a way of trying to reduce or prevent the harm of the obsessive thought. However, this behaviour is either excessive or not connected at all.

For example, a person who fears becoming contaminated with dirt and germs may wash their hands repeatedly. Or someone with a fear of causing harm to their family may have the urge to repeat an action multiple times to try to ‘neutralise’ the thought of harm. This type of compulsive behaviour is particularly common in children with OCD.

Most people with OCD realise that such compulsive behaviour is irrational. They might know it makes no logical sense, but they cannot stop acting on their compulsion.

Not all compulsive behaviours will be obvious to other people.