Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Symptoms
The persistent unwanted obsessions — inappropriate ideas, thoughts, impulses, or images — that people with OCD experience are the kinds of everyday thoughts or worries that could pass through a person's mind quickly and be dismissed. But those with OCD have trouble doing that, and find these obsessions cannot be controlled.[1]
Some common obsessions include:
- Fear of contamination
- Pathological doubt
- Need for particular order
- Aggressive impulses
- Sexual impulses
Source: [1]
To counteract these obsessions, people with OCD typically use repeated behaviors or thoughts, known as compulsions. Compulsions are often rituals that the person believes may reduce the risk of the obsessions coming true, or at least reduce the anxiety they produce. However, the compulsions often don't accomplish this, nor are they usually useful in any other way. In fact, the compulsions or rituals can take up so much time from a person's day that they get in the way of work, school, and family obligations.[1]
Common compulsions include:
There are tools available to help identify patients with OCD; a psychiatrist may use these tools to help quantify the severity of OCD, distinguish it from other conditions, and measure response to treatment.[2] These tools include symptom severity scales such as the Zohar-Fineberg Obsessive-Compulsive Screen[3] and the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS).[2]
"The symptom that most controls my life is my obsession with counting. For example, when I walk into a room, I have to count the tiles on the floor. And if I don't, I feel anxious and can't do anything else.
When I take standardized tests in school, I have to count all the letters in each sentence. This might then poorly affect my score on the test."
- Amanda O.
References:
- ^ American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed, text revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
- ^ American Psychiatric Association; Koran LM, et al. Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry. 2007;164(suppl):1-56.
- ^ National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Core Interventions in the Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. National Clinical Practice Guideline Number 31. London: The British Psychological Society and The Royal College of Psychiatrists; 2006.
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