What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of OCD?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition characterized by obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours which often are the result of intense anxiety. These feelings of anxiety are then reinforced through the OCD.

We can all have intrusive thoughts from time to time, but for someone with OCD, these thoughts can trigger extreme anxiety that gets in the way with day to day functioning.

Keys Signs & Symptoms Of OCD

Here are some of the most common symptoms that can point to the presence of OCD:

Contamination

From a number of sources such as urine, faeces, dirt, asbestos. bleach, HIV, herpes

Losing Control

Fear of acting on impulse and harming yourself or others, fear of horrific images in your mind, fear of shouting obscenities or insults, fear of stealing

Unwanted Sexual Thoughts

Forbidden or perverse sexual thoughts or images in general or about others, sexual obsessions that involve incest or children, obsessions about aggressive sexual behaviour towards others.

Harm

Fear of being responsible for something terrible happening, eg fire, fear of harming others by not being careful enough, eg dropping something on the ground and fearing someone will fall and hurt themselves because of it.

Perfectionism

Fear of losing things, fear of losing important information if you through anything out, difficulty making a decision to discard things, fear of things not be completely straight or even.

Common Compulsions In OCD

Washing

Excessive washing of hands, showering, or bathing routines, excessive cleaning of kitchen utensils or excessive hoovering.

Checking

That you did not or will not harm yourself or others, checking you turned off the lights, gas, oven etc checking you didn’t make a mistake, checking that nothing terrible has happened.

Repeating

Rewriting or rereading things, repeating routine activities, eg getting up and down from a chair, repeating body movements, eg tapping, touching.

Mental Compulsions

Adding a good word to cancel out a bad one, counting and ending in a certain number that is “good”, constant praying to prevent something awful happening, repetitive confessing to get reassurance.

Treatment for OCD will focus on challenging your rituals and beliefs, reducing your anxiety, and finding new ways of managing emotions.

Living with OCD can be debilitating, and it can be scary to let go of rituals that feel familiar and safe. We understand this, and will help you create new healthier resources to manage stress and life events.