What is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)?

Obsessions and compulsions

Obsessions may be thoughts, images, doubts or urges that feel intrusive and difficult to dismiss. Their content can involve contamination, responsibility, harm, relationships, religion or other personally significant concerns. Compulsions are repeated actions or mental rituals performed in response to distress or rigid rules.

• Visible rituals: repeated washing, checking, arranging or asking questions.
• Mental rituals: reviewing a memory, counting, replacing a thought or analysing feelings.
• Avoidance: staying away from situations that might trigger doubt or discomfort.

OCD is more than being tidy or careful

Liking order, taking sensible precautions or occasionally experiencing an unwanted thought does not by itself mean someone has OCD. Assessment looks at the function of a behaviour: is it a reasonable response to a situation, or an increasingly rigid attempt to remove doubt? It also considers the time involved and the cost to your life.

Why reassurance may not settle the doubt

An answer can feel convincing for a moment, then a new exception appears: “But what if this time is different?” The person may return to checking, searching or asking. This repeated loop is often more useful to understand than trying to settle the content of every thought. Read about the OCD cycle.

When to seek an assessment

Consider an assessment if routines are expanding, you avoid important activities, relationships are strained by reassurance seeking, or you spend substantial time trying to feel certain. Other conditions can produce overlapping experiences, so an online article cannot establish a diagnosis.

Online assessment with Hattem Asadi explores both the symptoms you notice and the less visible responses around them. If another form of support is more appropriate, that can be discussed before starting treatment.