Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD is a mental health condition that is characterized by recurrent and disturbing thoughts (obsessions) or repetitive, ritualized behaviours that an individual feels driven to perform (compulsions). For example, one may check the stove twenty times to make sure it's really turned off, wash hands until they're scrubbed raw or probably even drive around for hours together to make sure that the bump one heard while driving wasn't a person he or she ran over. Many people with OCD have both obsessions and compulsions, but some experience just one or the other.

OCD signs and symptoms of obsessive thoughts include:

• Fear of being fouled by germs or dirt or contaminating others
• Fear of losing or not having things that one might need
• Extreme focus on moral and religious ideas
• Order and symmetry such as the idea that everything must line up "just right"
• Fear of causing harm to oneself or others
• Disturbing sexually explicit or violent thoughts and images
• Superstitions such as excessive attention to something that is considered lucky or unlucky

OCD signs and symptoms of compulsive behaviours include:

• Constantly checking in on loved ones to make sure they're safe
• Excessive double checking of things such as locks and switches
• Tapping, counting, repeating certain words or even doing other senseless things to reduce anxiety
• Spending a lot of time in washing and cleaning
• Praying excessively or engaging in rituals triggered by religious fear
• Collecting junk such as old newspapers or empty food containers

It is important to get professional mental help if one shows the above signs and symptoms!