OCD:

• What is OCD?

  A condition characterised by obsessions and/or compulsive behaviour. Obsessions are cognitive whereas compulsions are behavioural.
• What are the behavioural characteristics of phobias?

  1. Compulsions are repetitive
  2. Compulsions reduce anxiety
  3. Avoidance
• Compulsions are repetitive:

  Typically people with OCD feel compelled to repeat a behaviour. A common example is hand washing. Other common compulsive repetitions include counting, praying and tidying/ordering groups of objects such as CD collections or containers in a food cupboard.
• Compulsions reduce anxiety:

  Around 10% of people with OCD show compulsive behaviour alone- they have no obsessions, just a general sense of irrational anxiety. However, for the vast majority, compulsive behaviours are performed in an attempt to manage the anxiety produced by obsessions.
• Avoidance:

  The behaviour of people with OCD may also be characterised by their avoidance as they attempt to reduce anxiety by keeping away from situations that trigger it. This can have an affect on them leading a 'normal' life.
• What are the emotional characteristics of OCD?

  1. Anxiety and Distress
  2. Depression
  3. Guilt and disgust
• Anxiety and distress:

  OCD is regarded as a particularly unpleasant emotional experience because of the powerful anxiety that accompanies both obsessions and compulsions. Obsessive thoughts are unpleasant and frightening, and the anxiety that goes with these can be overwhelming. The urge to repeat a behaviour creates anxiety.
• Accompanying depression:

  OCD is often accompanied by depression, so anxiety can be accompanied by low mood and lack of enjoyment in activities. Compulsive behaviour tends to bring some relief from anxiety but this is temporary.
• Guilt and Disgust:

  As well as anxiety and depression, OCD sometimes involves other negative emotions such as irrational guilt, for example over minor moral issues, or disgust which may be directed against something external like dirt or at the self.
• What are the cognitive characteristics of OCD?

  1. Obsessive thoughts
  2. Cognitive coping strategies
  3. Insight into excessive anxiety
• Obsessive thoughts:

  For around 90% of people with OCD the major cognitive feature of their condition is obsessive thoughts, i.e. thoughts that recur over and over again. These vary considerably from person to person but are always unpleasant. Examples of recurring thoughts are worries of being contaminated by dirt or germs.
• Cognitive coping strategies:

  Obsessions are the major cognitive aspect of OCD, but people also respond by adopting cognitive coping strategies to deal with the obsessions. For example, a religious person tormented by obsessive guilt may respond by praying or meditating. This may help manage anxiety but can make the person appear abnormal to others and can distract them from everyday tasks.
• Insight int excessive anxiety:

  People with OCD are aware that their obsessions and compulsions are not rational. In fact this is necessary for a diagnosis of OCD. If someone really believed their obsessive thoughts were based on reality that would be a symptom of a quite different form of mental disorder. However, in spite of this insight, people with OCD experience catastrophic thoughts about the worse case scenarios that might result if their anxieties were justified. They also tend to be hyper-vigilant