Characteristics of OCD

• What is OCD?

  Defined by obsessions , which are constant intrusive thoughts that cause high anxiety levels

  -Compulsions that are the behavioural response, an attempt to deal with the continuous invasive thought processes
• What are the Behavioural categories of OCD?

  -Compulsions = Behaviours performed repeatedly to reduce anxiety; however, any anxiety reduction is only temporary

  -- E.g. Checking behaviours( testing if the lights/gas is off) Ritual cleaning behaviours (cleaning kitchen or hands)

  -Avoidance = Take or resist actions to avoid being in the presence of objects/situations that trigger obsessions

  -Social impairment = Not participating in enjoyable social activities, this social withdrawal is often due to difficulty leaving the house without triggering obsessions or the need to carry out compulsions becomes time-consuming
• What are the Emotional categories of OCD?

  -Anxiety = An uncomfortably high and persistent state of arousal, making it difficult to relax

  -- Anxiety results from the obsession, the constant worst-case-scenario thinking that defines OCD

  -Depression = A consistent and long-lasting sense of sadness

  --The result of being unable to control the anxiety-causing thoughts and the OCD symptoms taking over the sufferer's life, leading to issues like social withdrawal
• What are the Cognitive categories of OCD?

  -Obsessions = Intrusive, irrational and recurrent thoughts that tend to be unpleasant catastrophic thoughts about potential danger

  -Hypervigilance = A permanent state of alertness where the sufferer is looking for the source of their obsessive thoughts

  -- For e.g. someone with contamination obsession looks at each surface they need to touch, thinking about the potential threat of exposure to germs

  -Selective attention (attentional bias) = This means the individual with OCD is so focused on the objects connected to the obsession they cannot focus on other things in their environment or concentrate on conversations