cognitive characteristics

• cognitive strategies to deal with obsessions

  people respond to obsessions by adopting cognitive coping strategies. e.g. a religious person tormented by obsessive guilt may respond by praying. this may help manage anxiety but can make the person appear abnormal to others
• obsessive thoughts

  for around 90% of OCD sufferers the major feature is obsessive thoughts. these vary from person to person but are always unpleasant. e.g. recurring thoughts are worries of being contaminated by germs
• insight into excessive anxiety

  people suffering from OCD are aware that their obsessions and compulsions are not rational. However, OCD sufferers experience catastrophic thoughts about the worst case scenarios that might result if their anxieties were justified. they also tend to be hypervigilant e.g. they maintain constant alertness and keep attention focused on potential hazards