Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, involves having obsessive thinking patterns that can include unwanted thoughts, images, urges, or even physical sensations that make a person feel anxious or distressed.
Individuals who have OCD often have significant difficulty detaching from these thoughts. Those with OCD also have compulsive behaviors which are an attempt to reverse the obsessive thoughts or urges by performing some sort of action, such as replacing a bad thought with a good thought (also known as thought neutralizing), repeating, reassurance seeking, checking, etc.
Common Obsessions, according to the Mayo Clinic, of OCD are:
Intrusive, unwanted thoughts or images
Persistent fears of contamination or getting sick
Repetitive “what if” thoughts you can’t shut off
Constant doubt about whether something was done correctly
Obsessive worry about causing harm to yourself or others
Disturbing mental images involving violence, accidents, or harm
Intrusive thoughts about sexuality or sexual orientation
Persistent fears or doubts about your relationships
Unwanted thoughts that conflict with your values or identity
Mental “loops” of overthinking or replaying situations
Fear that you’ll lose control and act on a thought
Common Compulsions, according to the Mayo Clinic, of OCD are:
Repetitive checking (locks, appliances, messages, bodily sensations, etc. in effort to get reassurance)
Excessive cleaning or handwashing
Avoiding people, places, or objects that trigger anxiety
Mentally reviewing events to “make sure” nothing bad happened
Repeating actions until they feel “just right”
Counting, tapping, or arranging items in a certain way
Seeking reassurance from others (asking the same questions repeatedly)
Googling symptoms, meaning, or “answers” to intrusive thoughts
Redoing tasks to prevent imagined mistakes
Confessing thoughts or worries to feel relieved
Creating detailed rituals to reduce anxiety or prevent feared outcomes
If you found yourself nodding along to any of the above, it may be time to look into Exposure and Response Prevention. ERP is the gold-standard, research-backed approach for treating OCD — and it truly works.
As a licensed clinician, I have extensive training and nearly 15 years of experience in helping men, women, and families learn and grow from the hold of OCD. Together, we’ll create a strategy that works explicitly for you.