What Is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsDiagnosisCausesTreatmentCopingNext in OCD GuideWhat Are the 4 Types of OCD?

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Symptoms

Diagnosis

Causes

Treatment

Coping

Next in OCD Guide

A person with OCD commonly performs the same rituals (such as handwashing) over and over and may feel unable to control these impulses. These repetitive behaviors are often performed in an effort to reduce distress and anxiety.

This article will look at the causes and symptoms of OCD and some of the available treatment options.

Brianna Gilmartin / Verywell

Characteristics / Traits / Symptoms

The symptoms of OCD may involve characteristics of obsessions, behaviors that would indicate compulsions, or both. Symptoms are often associated with feelings of shame and concealment (secretiveness).

Common Obsessive Symptoms

In OCD, obsessions are defined as repetitive thoughts, urges, impulses, or mental images that cause anxiety or distress. These obsessions are considered intrusive and unwanted.

A person who has OCD may attempt to ignore or suppress the thoughts, urges, or images via some other thought or action (such as performing compulsive actions).

What Are the 4 Types of OCD?

Common Compulsive Symptoms of OCD

Compulsions can be defined as specific types of repetitive behavior or mental rituals that a person with OCD often engages in, to the point of being ritualistic. These repetitive behaviors help reduce distress that comes from obsessive thoughts.

There is a very strong compulsion to perform these repetitive actions and behaviors, and over time, they become automatic. A person feels driven to perform these repetitive behaviors as a way of eitherlowering anxiety or preventing a dreaded event from occurring.

Compulsive behaviors may include repeatedly checking things, handwashing, praying, counting, and seeking reassurance from others.

Specific examples of common compulsions in people with OCD include:

Most people (even thosewithoutOCD) have some mild compulsions—such as the need to check the stove or the doors a time or two before leaving the house.

With OCD, there are some specific symptoms that go along with these compulsions such as:

Obsession vs. Compulsion: Effect on Actions and Thinking

Common Traits of People With OCD

People with OCD may use substances (such as alcohol or drugs) to lessen the stress and anxiety associated with their symptoms. The symptoms of OCD may change over time; for example, some symptoms will come and go, others may lessen, or they may get worse over time.

If you or a loved one are struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.If you are having suicidal thoughts, dial988to contact the988 Suicide & Crisis Lifelineand connect with a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call911.For more mental health resources, see thisNational Helpline Database.

If you or a loved one are struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat1-800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, dial988to contact the988 Suicide & Crisis Lifelineand connect with a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call911.

For more mental health resources, see thisNational Helpline Database.

Diagnosis or Identifying OCD

There are no lab tests, genetic tests, or other formal physical tests for diagnosing OCD. A diagnosis is made after an interview with a skilled clinician who has been trained in diagnosing mental health conditions. This could be a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed psychologist, or a psychiatrist (a medical doctor specializing in the field of psychiatry).

Here are the traits and symptoms that a qualified clinician will look for when formulating a diagnosis of OCD:

If the clinician finds that the obsessive, compulsive behaviors take up a lot of the person’s time and interfere with important activities in life, there may be a diagnosis of OCD. For this diagnosis to be made, the symptoms should not be attributable to a substance or other medical or psychiatric condition.

If you suspect that you or a friend or family member may have OCD, be sure to consult with your healthcare provider about the symptoms as soon as possible. When left untreated, OCD can impact all aspects of a person’s life. Also, keep in mind that early diagnosis and intervention equates to better treatment outcomes.

How Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Is Diagnosed

The exactcause of OCDis unknown, but new research is uncovering some evidence that points to why OCD occurs. This may help to provide insight into treatment options for OCD in the future.

Studies

A 2019 study examined the literature that has identified specific areas of the brain and the processes associated with the repetitive behaviors of those with OCD.This involved hundreds of brain scans of people with OCD and compared them with the brain scans of those who didnothave OCD.

This is what the researchers discovered:

According to the lead study author, Luke Norman, Ph.D., “These results show that, in OCD, the brain responds too much to errors, and too little to stop signals. By combining data from 10 studies, and nearly 500 patients and healthy volunteers, we could see how brain circuits long hypothesized to be crucial to OCD are indeed involved in the disorder,” says Norman.

List of Documented Psychological Disorders

In fact, according to ­­­­­­­­­an older study published in theJournal of Clinical Psychiatry, it takes a person an average of 11 years to start treatment after meeting the diagnostic criteria for the disease.

Often, people with OCD experience significant improvement in symptoms with proper and timely treatment. Some people even achieve remission.

Cognitive Therapy

There are a variety of cognitive therapy modalities used to treat OCD.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

Exposureand response prevention is one type of cognitive therapy that is used to treat OCD. ERP aims to help people break the cycle of obsessions and compulsions to help improve their overall quality of life. This type of therapy encourages people with OCD to face their fears without engaging in compulsive behaviors.

Exposure and response therapy begins with helping people confront situations that cause anxiety. When a person has repeated exposure, it helps to lower the intensity of anxious feelings associated with certain situations that normally engender distress.

Starting with situations that cause mild anxiety, the therapy involves moving on to more difficult situations (the ones that cause moderate and then severe anxiety).

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive-behavioral therapyis a type of therapy that offers elements of ERT, and also includes a focus on the cognitive distortions and other problematic behaviors that are part of OCD.

Motivational Interviewing

Using motivational interviewing has been shown to increase engagement in therapy and improve outcomes for people with OCD in some studies.

In contrast to cognitive-behavioral therapies such as ERP. more open-ended and exploratory psychotherapies are generally not effective in the treatment of OCD.

Medication

There are several types of medication that can be prescribed to treat OCD.Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)are the preferred initial pharmacotherapy for OCD.

SSRIs include Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), and Luvox (fluvoxamine). Tricyclic antidepressants such as Anafranil (clomipramine) may be used.

When taking SSRI’s, there are some basic guidelines that apply, these include:

Other medications, such as the atypical antipsychotics or clomipramine may be given to help potentiate the SSRI medication regime.

If you are prescribed medication for OCD, it’s important to:

OCD and Bipolar Disorder: How They Are Connected

Coping with OCD can be challenging, for the person who is diagnosed with the disorder, as well as for the family members. Be sure to reach out for support (such as participating in an online support group) or talk to your healthcare provider or therapist about your needs.

You may need to educate friends and family members about OCD. Keep in mind that OCD is not something to be ashamed of. It is a medical problem that is not anyone’s fault.

OCPD vs. OCD: What Are the Differences?

12 SourcesVerywell Health 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.Fenske J, Petersen K.Obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnosis and management. American Family Physician.Beyond OCD.org.Clinical definition of OCD.Beyond OCD.org.Clinical definition of OCD.International OCD Foundation.How is OCD diagnosed?National Institute of Mental Health.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.Gavin K.Stuck in a loop of wrongness: Brain study shows roots of OCD.University of Michigan (UOFM) Health Lab.Norman LJ, Taylor SF, Liu Y, et al.Error processing and inhibitory control in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a meta-analysis using statistical parametric maps.Biological Psychiatry. 2019;85(9):713-725. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.11.010Parmar A, Sarkar S.Neuroimaging studies in obsessive compulsive disorder: a narrative review.Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine. 2016;38(5):386-394. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.191395Pinto A, Mancebo MC, Eisen JL, et al.The Brown Longitudinal Obsessive Compulsive Study.J Clin Psychiatry.2006;67(5):703–711. doi:10.4088/jcp.v67n0503Visser HA, van Oppen P, van Megen HJ, et al.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.J Affect Disord. 2014;152–154:169–174. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.09.004OCD UK.What is exposure response prevention (ERP)?Lambert M.APA releases guidelines on treating obsessive-compulsive disorder.Am Fam Physician; 78 (1):131-135.

12 Sources

Verywell Health 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.Fenske J, Petersen K.Obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnosis and management. American Family Physician.Beyond OCD.org.Clinical definition of OCD.Beyond OCD.org.Clinical definition of OCD.International OCD Foundation.How is OCD diagnosed?National Institute of Mental Health.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.Gavin K.Stuck in a loop of wrongness: Brain study shows roots of OCD.University of Michigan (UOFM) Health Lab.Norman LJ, Taylor SF, Liu Y, et al.Error processing and inhibitory control in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a meta-analysis using statistical parametric maps.Biological Psychiatry. 2019;85(9):713-725. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.11.010Parmar A, Sarkar S.Neuroimaging studies in obsessive compulsive disorder: a narrative review.Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine. 2016;38(5):386-394. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.191395Pinto A, Mancebo MC, Eisen JL, et al.The Brown Longitudinal Obsessive Compulsive Study.J Clin Psychiatry.2006;67(5):703–711. doi:10.4088/jcp.v67n0503Visser HA, van Oppen P, van Megen HJ, et al.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.J Affect Disord. 2014;152–154:169–174. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.09.004OCD UK.What is exposure response prevention (ERP)?Lambert M.APA releases guidelines on treating obsessive-compulsive disorder.Am Fam Physician; 78 (1):131-135.

Verywell Health 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.

Fenske J, Petersen K.Obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnosis and management. American Family Physician.Beyond OCD.org.Clinical definition of OCD.Beyond OCD.org.Clinical definition of OCD.International OCD Foundation.How is OCD diagnosed?National Institute of Mental Health.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.Gavin K.Stuck in a loop of wrongness: Brain study shows roots of OCD.University of Michigan (UOFM) Health Lab.Norman LJ, Taylor SF, Liu Y, et al.Error processing and inhibitory control in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a meta-analysis using statistical parametric maps.Biological Psychiatry. 2019;85(9):713-725. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.11.010Parmar A, Sarkar S.Neuroimaging studies in obsessive compulsive disorder: a narrative review.Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine. 2016;38(5):386-394. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.191395Pinto A, Mancebo MC, Eisen JL, et al.The Brown Longitudinal Obsessive Compulsive Study.J Clin Psychiatry.2006;67(5):703–711. doi:10.4088/jcp.v67n0503Visser HA, van Oppen P, van Megen HJ, et al.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.J Affect Disord. 2014;152–154:169–174. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.09.004OCD UK.What is exposure response prevention (ERP)?Lambert M.APA releases guidelines on treating obsessive-compulsive disorder.Am Fam Physician; 78 (1):131-135.

Fenske J, Petersen K.Obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnosis and management. American Family Physician.

Beyond OCD.org.Clinical definition of OCD.

International OCD Foundation.How is OCD diagnosed?

National Institute of Mental Health.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Gavin K.Stuck in a loop of wrongness: Brain study shows roots of OCD.University of Michigan (UOFM) Health Lab.

Norman LJ, Taylor SF, Liu Y, et al.Error processing and inhibitory control in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a meta-analysis using statistical parametric maps.Biological Psychiatry. 2019;85(9):713-725. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.11.010

Parmar A, Sarkar S.Neuroimaging studies in obsessive compulsive disorder: a narrative review.Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine. 2016;38(5):386-394. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.191395

Pinto A, Mancebo MC, Eisen JL, et al.The Brown Longitudinal Obsessive Compulsive Study.J Clin Psychiatry.2006;67(5):703–711. doi:10.4088/jcp.v67n0503

Visser HA, van Oppen P, van Megen HJ, et al.Obsessive-compulsive disorder.J Affect Disord. 2014;152–154:169–174. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2013.09.004

OCD UK.What is exposure response prevention (ERP)?

Lambert M.APA releases guidelines on treating obsessive-compulsive disorder.Am Fam Physician; 78 (1):131-135.

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