Obsessions, compulsions and unhelpful beliefs

Everyone’s experience of OCD is different. But if you live with OCD, you will have obsessions. It is also likely you will have compulsions and unhelpful beliefs. 

Obsessions are unwanted thoughts, urges and sometimes images that appear in your head. They can be hard to ignore and happen regularly. You are likely to try to relieve the anxiety of obsessions by performing a compulsion. 

Compulsions can be a mental or physical action and the relief they bring usually  doesn’t last long. This cycle of thoughts followed by rituals can take up a lot of time and affect day-to-day life. 

Some people living with OCD also experience unhelpful beliefs like over estimating threat, placing more importance on thoughts, an enlarged sense of responsibility. 

OCD is not about “enjoying cleaning”

Saying that OCD is just about being "clean and orderly" is a misrepresentation of a very complex condition. 

And saying “I’m so OCD” when what you really mean is “I like things to be tidy” belittles the experiences of people living with OCD.

Common causes and symptoms of OCD

The reason someone may develop OCD is unknown. But it is believed that life events, family history, differences in your brain activity, and your personality, could all play a part.  

Symptoms of OCD will be unique to you, but commons ones include: 

• A fear of contamination, including shaking someone’s hand, touching door handles, visiting someone else’s house.
• Worrying something or someone will be harmed if you don’t check something like whether a light is switched off, a window is closed, or if you have your wallet with you.
• Anxiety that something bad will happen if things are not orderly, such as aligning clothes in a wardrobe, repeating certain words silently, counting to a particular number.
• Intrusive thoughts like an urge to jump in in front of a train, constant concerns about your relationship, thinking a serious incident is your fault.
• Hoarding and finding it difficult to get rid of items from your house, even if there’s no more space to story things.  

Available treatment for OCD

If you’re living with OCD, there is treatment out there for you. 

One option is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – a form of talking therapy that focuses on problems and difficulties in the present rather than in the past. CBT can help you manage problems with techniques to change how you think and behave. 

Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is also offered alongside CBT. With support of your therapist, ERP exposes you to whatever you are frightened of or anxious about like germs or dirt. You are then taught ways of coping with your fear instead of relying on compulsions. 

Doctors may also offer you a type of antidepressant called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI).

To find out more about OCD, visit our full-length advice page.