8 Things Linked to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Do you have fears or thoughts that just won’t stop? Perhaps your partner has noticed that some of your behaviors seem ritualistic and out of the norm. Our caring staff at Nunn Psychiatric Care treats many patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). 

What is obsessive-compulsive disorder? 

OCD is a mental disorder characterized by persistent thoughts or feelings that don’t stop. The obsessions can create different types of compulsions, which are repetitive actions or thoughts that interfere with normal functioning. 

Signs of OCD

If you’re concerned that you or a loved one has OCD, it’s important to get help. OCD can be very disabling, interfering with your ability to perform at work and impairing social and intimate relationships. Following are eight signs of OCD. 

Contamination obsessions

Fear of dirt, germs, chemicals, or touching urine or feces is one type of obsession. Have you always been worried about the presence of germs? Perhaps it has affected your life so deeply that you avoid going places you used to go and engaging in activities you once enjoyed. 

For example, perhaps you can no longer bear to receive hugs from friends. Maybe you fear touching a cashier’s hand when you take your grocery receipt. Your mind replays your fear about germs to the point that all you can think about is ridding yourself of the germs. 

Washing and cleaning compulsions 

You may develop compulsions arising from obsessive thoughts about contamination. They may include having to wash your hands repeatedly after you touch a substance you think may be contaminated. 

Perhaps you can’t just wipe once or twice after passing urine or feces; you’re so worried about germs that you develop an elaborate cleaning routine each time you use the bathroom. Your cleaning compulsion could involve excess showering or other grooming routines. 

Perfectionism obsessions

Your obsession may be with fear of making a mistake or an unrealistic worry about performing to exact specifications. 

If you’re measuring something, you’re not satisfied with your answer. If you’re opening or closing blinds in a window, you may spend inordinate time trying to make the blind hang evenly. Perhaps objects in your house must be placed in an exact position. 

Repeating actions needlessly 

Your perfectionism may lead to a compulsion to repeat your actions over and over again needlessly. If you’re brushing your teeth, you may feel you haven’t brushed every tooth enough, so you end up brushing your teeth again and again. 

Perhaps the problem is handwashing. You feel you haven’t washed your hands the “correct” way, so you wash them over and over again. 

Ritualistic behavior 

You have a strict regimen in the way you complete tasks, and you can’t vary the routine. Your behavior becomes ritualistic. You may tap a chair three times before sitting down, or always cut your food into a certain number of pieces before you can eat it. 

Checking repeatedly 

It’s normal now and then to go back and check to see if you locked your door when leaving the house. However, OCD may cause you to check not just once, but numerous times before you can proceed with your day. Checking and rechecking obsessively is one of the common signs of OCD. 

You may not want to check and recheck things or repeat tasks over and over, but you feel compelled to do so; it may lessen your anxiety that something bad will happen if you don’t do it. 

Intrusive thoughts about death and violence

Your thoughts may be preoccupied with death or a fear of harming someone or causing an accident to happen. You may have obsessions involving violence against yourself or someone else. Your thoughts are on rewind; you can’t think about anything else. 

Thoughts and/or behaviors that interfere with normal life and are beyond your control 

Is your behavior beyond your control? You don’t enjoy running up and down the stairs 15 times to check to see if you turned the faucet off, but it happens and you continue the behavior. If you’re spending an hour doing a task that you could have completed in five minutes, it’s likely that life isn’t going well for you. 

Our compassionate staff at Nunn Psychiatric Care provides mental health therapy and can prescribe medication to help control your obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors. 

OCD patients are also often diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression. We provide appropriate and individualized treatment based on your needs. 

Call Nunn Psychiatric Care or request an appointment online today. Your mental health is our priority.