Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a condition which involves obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours. It is an anxiety disorder characterised by intrusive thoughts, uneasiness, apprehension, fear or worry and repetitive behaviours aimed at reducing the associated anxiety. People with OCD may recognise their obsessions and compulsions as irrational and may become further distressed by that realisation.

The symptoms of OCD are intrusive by nature and can affect everyday life. Symptoms are often exacerbated during times of high stress or anxiety. For some, even when not in the presence of the activating agent, negative scenarios are imagined regarding the content of the obsession, creating yet more anxiety.

While everyone who suffers with OCD will do so in different ways, several characteristics are commonplace:

• Obsession – unwanted thoughts or urges enter the mind repeatedly causing distress e.g. I must wash my hands again or I will be contaminated.
• Anxiety – Intrusive and distressing thoughts raise our anxiety and cause even more negative thinking, until we find ourselves in an apparent unending cycle of negative thinking.
• Compulsion – Typically, there will be an urge or compulsion to carry out an action. This may be physical e.g. placement of items or mental e.g. counting.
• Temporary relief – In the mistaken belief that carrying out the action will prevent the worst from happening, there may be a temporary relief from anxiety. However, obsessional thoughts and anxiety soon return and the cycle begins again.

Symptoms are often exacerbated during times of high stress. We may find OCD to be more debilitating when we are dealing with events which have no apparent connection. Symptoms may include excessive cleaning, repeated checking, extreme hoarding, preoccupation with sexual, violent or religious thoughts, aversion to particular numbers and nervous rituals, such as opening and closing a door a certain number of times before leaving a room.