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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder. It can be a serious mental health condition, impacting your life in a variety of ways. In day-to-day conversation, people might say, “I’m so OCD” because they believe the condition is simply a fixation on things being orderly and clean. This is a huge misconception. Viewing OCD in this way diminishes the real suffering that people with OCD experience.
It’s important to be aware of OCD symptoms. Understanding them will help you to realize if you or someone close to you needs help.
OCD can be a major source of discomfort in someone’s life. Patients often struggle with persistent, repetitive behaviors, thoughts, and images. Besides being extremely distressing, the condition can interfere with your life.
There are five categories of OCD. Each one still falls under the broader category of OCD because of its obsessive and compulsive nature, but its thoughts and behaviors are different. You may experience symptoms from more than one subtype. You can use this list as an OCD symptoms test to see if you exhibit signs. These signs can also sometimes be masked by accompanying issues such as substance abuse and addiction.
The five types of OCD are:
If you struggle with this type of OCD, then you will obsess about being contaminated. To relieve the distress this causes, you may wash or clean yourself excessively. People with this subtype of OCD may repeatedly wash their hands, for example, sometimes for hours at a time.
People with symmetry obsessions feel compelled to arrange objects so they look “just right.” This might involve color-coordinating your wardrobe or thinking or saying something until it sounds perfect. OCD symptoms of this subtype feature an obsession with order and exactness, as well as compulsive counting.
Hoarding is both a diagnosis in itself and a category of OCD. It usually involves collecting items that others wouldn’t judge as having much value. Such items may include:
OCD sufferers of this type often experience obsessive fears about losing items, believing they will one day need them. They have excessive emotional attachment to their possessions.
People with harm obsessions have distressing thoughts related to harm. If you suffer from this subtype, you may constantly have thoughts about possible harm to yourself or others. To deal with these thoughts, you may engage in checking rituals, such as repeatedly returning to your house to make sure it isn’t burning down or constantly checking that your stove is switched off.
People with purely obsessional OCD, pure O or obsessions without visible compulsions tend to have unwanted obsessions with religious, sexual or aggressive themes. For instance, you may have intrusive thoughts about being a rapist or a violent person.
There are no visible compulsions. Instead, people with pure O use mental rituals, like silently counting, to relieve their anxiety. Sufferers tend to avoid triggers for their OCD symptoms at all costs.
What ties all the above categories together is that they are characterized by obsessions and compulsions.
Signs of OCD obsession may include:
Common compulsions include:
OCD symptoms are often accompanied by certain unpleasant emotional states. You might feel extremely anxious and emotional a lot of the time and show signs of:
In addition to behavioral signs, like checking, an OCD sufferer can develop physical problems. For example, someone with contamination obsessions may get raw, red, painful hands from washing them too often, for too long.
Since OCD rehab takes the form of anxiety disorder treatment, it often features physical symptoms tied to anxious thoughts, like:
OCD sufferers can also experience short-term effects that impact the quality of their life. For example, these can include:
All of the above short-term effects of OCD can significantly impact your quality of life. Therefore, certain long-term effects can manifest, including:
Whatever kind of OCD symptoms you experience, it’s crucial to know that help and support are out there. OCD is a treatable mental health condition. For example, treatment options that can help you manage OCD symptoms include:
Here at Lucida, we will help you identify the nature and degree of your OCD symptoms. Then we work with you to find treatment for OCD that makes your life easier and more enjoyable. Call us at 1.866.947.7299 for a free, confidential assessment.
