Common Obsessions and Compulsions Among People With OCD

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsObsessionsCommon Types of ObsessionsCompulsionsCommon OCD CompulsionsTreatment for OCD

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Table of Contents

Obsessions

Common Types of Obsessions

Compulsions

Common OCD Compulsions

Treatment for OCD

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The keysymptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder(OCD) are related to unwanted obsessive thoughts, images, and urges, while compulsive behaviors help reduce anxiety related to the obsessions.

Obsessionsare the first half of obsessive-compulsive disorder, the mental experience that leads to compulsive behaviors. Obsessions involveintrusivethoughts, feelings, and mental imagesthat can seem like they are taking over. They are unwanted, repetitive, and often ego-dystonic, meaning the thoughts are not congruent with the person’s character.

Obsessions may cause people with OCD to feel a terrible lack of control, as well as significant anxiety, fear, disgust,shame, or guilt. Oftentimes people know their thoughts are irrational, while other times, they believe their worries are valid.

Common obsessions among people with OCD include:

Contamination: Afear of contamination, such as germs, viruses, body fluids, animals, diseases, chemicals, or dirt

Responsibility: Fear of accidentally hurting someone else because of something you did or forgot to do, such as not turning off the stove and causing a house fire, or forgetting to clean up water that you spilled and causing someone to slip and fall.

Magical thinking: An extreme form of superstition,magical thinkingmeans that you worry that something bad will happen if you don’t say a certain word or phrase, wear a certain article of clothing, use a lucky charm, or behave in a certain way. For example, the infamous superstition “step on a crack and break your Mama’s back” dates back to ancient folklore where stepping on cracks or openings in the earth invited evil spirits to cause harm to your family members.

Taboo sexual thoughts:Unwantedsexual obsessions, thoughts, or images about children, incest, and/or aggressive sexual behavior.OCD related to pedophiliais extremely upsetting and can make you question whether you are a pedophile.

Moral and religious worry: Worry about being good and living a moral enough life. Some have concerns about blurting out swear words, especially at the wrong time and place (like at a funeral). There can be a preoccupation about blaspheming God, committing sins, and damnation.Real-event OCDrefers to having a fixation about events in the past that make you question your morals and character.

Perfectionism: Worry about how straight, symmetrical, or even objects are. Fear of losing or forgetting something important. An inability to make decisions on what to keep and what to throw away. A fixation on certain numbers and/or colors being good/correct or bad/incorrect.

Identity: Many people explore their gender identity and sexual orientation; however, those with this type of OCD develop a preoccupation about it. They experience intrusive and distressing thoughts that are the opposite of their own identity.

Relationships: Doubts and fears that intrude upon your romantic relationships. You may obsess over your partner’s flaws, or have excessive concern about finding “the one” that tends to cause strain in your current relationships. On the other hand, you may be obsessing about making your partner happy and worried your partner does not love you anymore.

Understanding and Managing Intrusive Thoughts In Romantic Relationships

Compulsionsare behaviors done in response to an obsessive thought. A person with OCD may repeat these behaviors over and over again, possibly for hours on end, in order to try and relieve anxiety. In OCD, examples of compulsions include repeated handwashing or counting, but everyone with OCD is different and may display different behaviors.

Even though people with OCD feeldrivento engage in these behaviors, they don’t want to. Though the behaviors do lessen the negative feelings of anxiety, guilt, or fear, it is only temporary, and they take up a lot of time. Compulsive behaviors may significantly impact the quality of life.

Common Compulsions in OCD

A compulsion can be a physical act or a mental one. Examples of common compulsions among people withOCDinclude:

Sometimes, compulsive behavior is present in other conditions, such asaddiction,binge-eating disorder, orhoarding disorder. These are not the same as obsessive-compulsive disorder, although there are overlapping symptoms.

What Is Repetition Compulsion?

Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Many people with OCD can learn self-management techniques such as relaxation, mindfulness, distraction, physical activity, andherbalremedies that help them manage their symptoms.

Self-Help Strategies for Living With OCD

However, OCD can be extremely disabling for some people and more aggressive treatment is necessary.Treatment for OCDincludes medications, psychotherapy, brain stimulation therapies, or neurosurgery.

If you recognize some of these symptoms in yourself, you are not alone and help is available. Don’t let feelings of embarassment, shame, or guilt hold you back from getting treatmnet. Trained professionals are familiar with these distressing thought patterns and will help you overcome.

The 3 Main Theories of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

3 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.International OCD Foundation.What is OCD?Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.Decloedt EH, Stein DJ.Current trends in drug treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2010;6:233-242. doi:10.2147/ndt.s3149Additional ReadingAmerican Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.Hezel DM, Simpson HB.Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S85-S92. doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_516_18National Institute of Mental Health.Obessive-Compulsive Disorder.

3 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.International OCD Foundation.What is OCD?Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.Decloedt EH, Stein DJ.Current trends in drug treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2010;6:233-242. doi:10.2147/ndt.s3149Additional ReadingAmerican Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.Hezel DM, Simpson HB.Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S85-S92. doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_516_18National Institute of Mental Health.Obessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

International OCD Foundation.What is OCD?Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.Decloedt EH, Stein DJ.Current trends in drug treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2010;6:233-242. doi:10.2147/ndt.s3149

International OCD Foundation.What is OCD?

Anxiety and Depression Association of America.Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Decloedt EH, Stein DJ.Current trends in drug treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder.Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2010;6:233-242. doi:10.2147/ndt.s3149

American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.Hezel DM, Simpson HB.Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S85-S92. doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_516_18National Institute of Mental Health.Obessive-Compulsive Disorder.

American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.

Hezel DM, Simpson HB.Exposure and response prevention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: A review and new directions.Indian J Psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 1):S85-S92. doi:10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_516_18

National Institute of Mental Health.Obessive-Compulsive Disorder.

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