What is obsessive compulsive disorder?
OCD is a condition where you have recurring obsessions, compulsions, or both.
What are obsessions?
Obsessions are
unpleasant thoughts, images, or urges that keep coming into your mind.
Obsessions are not simply worries about your life problems. Common
obsessions include:
- Fears about contamination with dirt, germs, viruses (eg HIV), etc.
- Worries about doors being unlocked, fires left on, causing harm to someone, etc.
- Intrusive thoughts or images of swearing, blasphemy, sex, someone harmed, etc.
- Fear of making a mistake or behaving badly.
- A need for exactness in how you order or arrange things.
These are examples. Obsessions can be about all sorts of
things. Obsessive thoughts can make you feel anxious or disgusted. You
normally try to ignore or suppress obsessive thoughts. For example, you
may try to think other thoughts to 'neutralise' the obsession.
What are compulsions?
Compulsions are
thoughts or actions that you feel you must do or repeat. Usually the
compulsive act is in response to an obsession. A compulsion is a way of
trying to deal with the distress or anxiety caused by an obsession.
For
example, you may wash your hands every few minutes in response to an
obsessional fear about germs. Another example is you may keep on
checking that doors are locked in response to the obsession about doors
being unlocked. Other compulsions include repeated cleaning, counting,
touching, saying words silently, arranging and organising - but there
are others.
Average rating:
Where to next?
Please leave a comment, tip or story in the box below
kerry, over 2 years
hi im nearly 13 now , but when i was about 9 i used to have a OCD . i repeatedly did things as i thought if i didnt i might die in a house fire or something. the things i did included repeatedly praying, blinking my eyes, holding my breath, banging my elbows on the cabinets while brushing my teeth counting up to 100 and banging my cup on my head and on the top of my gums. my mum soon noticed this and asked why i did it, when i told her she found out that i had a OCD and that i must stop worrying as it wasnt true . i started coming out of the habit but it was hard , and i didnt tell anyone else. Istill do it sometimes now but i am a lot better now and im glad i am as i never realised it was a mental disoder...
Report this comment
evie, about 1 year
hiya, my names evie and im sure i have a OCD, im 12 now just when i was 9 i remember i dropped an apple on the floor and when i picked it up i had to touch the floor 4 times or it would have irritated me! and also i remember whenever i switched a light off i would have to touch the wal 4 times aswell. now im 12 i am stil suffering with them but they are new ones now such as, when i am coming down my stairs i always pick a stair and say if i dont get to that step in a certain amount of seconds the excorsist will get me! and sometimes if i dont do something for example touch my bed one more time before i go downstairs, someone close me to will die. and if i dont do something which my head tells me to do it says that someone close to me will die aswell. im really concerned and i tell my mam i think i have a oCD and i want to go to the doctors, she thinks i am being over-exaturative and being dramatic but im not! i clearly have one. oh and also if my heas tells me to do something and i dont do it it says someone will die aswell. ive had a OCD since i was about 8/9 and im really starting to be scared about it. i need help!
Report this comment