characteristics of OCD

• 3 types of characteristics of OCD are behavioural, emotional and cognitive
• Examples of behavioural characteristics are compulsions and avoidance
• Compulsions are repetitive and reduce anxiety

  e.g. actions are repeated in a ritualistic way
• 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
• 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
• Emotional characteristics of OCD:

  • anxiety and distress
  • accompanying depression
  • guilt and disgust
• Cognitive characteristics of OCD

  • obsessive thoughts
  • cognitive coping strategies
  • insight into excessive anxiety
• 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 into excessive anxiety

  • People with OCD are aware that their obsessions and compulsions are not rational
  • This is necessary for a diagnosis of OCD
  • People with OCD experience catastrophic thoughts about the worst case scenarios that might result if their anxieties were justified
  • They also tend to be hypervigilant, i.e. they maintain constant alertness and keep attention focused on potential
• The DSM system recognises OCD and a range of related disorders. What these disorders all have in common is repetitive behaviour accompanied by obsessive thinking.
• OCD - characterised by either obsessions (recurring thoughts, images, etc.) and/or compulsions (repetitive behaviours such as handwashing). Most people with a diagnosis of OCD have both obsessions and compulsions.
• Trichotillomania 


  compulsive hair-pulling
• Hoarding disorder


  the compulsive gathering of possessions and the inability to part with anything, regardless of its value
• Excoriation disorder


  compulsive skin-picking