Overview of OCD

• OCD


  An anxiety disorder characterised by either obsessions and/or compulsions
• Symptoms required for OCD diagnosis (DSM-5)

  • Obsessions: recurrent and persistent thoughts that are intrusive, unwanted and cause anxiety and distress. The individual tries to supress the thoughts or neutralise them with some other thought or action.
  • Compulsions: repetitive behaviours (e.g. checking) or mental acts (e.g. counting) in response to an obsession. These behaviours are designed to reduce anxiety or prevent a dreadful event occurring. They are excessive and can be unrealistic.
• Cognitive characteristics - Obsessions


  • Recurrent and persistent thoughts – sufferers experience constantly repeated obsessive thoughts, images and ideas of an intrusive nature. They are uncontrollable and cause distress.
  • Insight into excessive anxiety – people suffering from OCD are aware that their obsessions and compulsions are not rational. This is necessary for a diagnosis for OCD.
  • Catastrophic thoughts about the worst-case scenarios that might result if their anxieties were justified.
• Behavioural characteristics - Compulsions


  • Repetitive Behaviours – sufferers feel compelled to repeat behaviours as a response to their obsessive thoughts, ideas and images. Common examples include hand washing, counting, praying and tidying groups of objects.
  • Compulsions reduce anxiety – behaviours and mental acts are used to prevent or reduce distress and anxiety produced by obsessions. For example, compulsive checking, for example that a door is locked or a gas appliance is switched off, is in response to the obsessive thought that it might have been left unsecured. The behaviours are designed to prevent some dreaded event or situation even though they cannot realistically prevent these.
• Emotional characteristics


  • Anxiety and distress – obsessive thoughts are unpleasant and frightening and the anxiety that goes with these can be overwhelming. The urge to repeat a behaviour (a compulsion) creates anxiety.
  • Guilt– OCD often involves irrational guilt, for example over minor moral issues. The sufferer may have a feeling that their actions have, or will lead to something terrible, resulting in feelings of guilt.