When someone says that another person, or themselves, is/or has OCD, what does that mean? The letters stand for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. What is an obsession? What is a compulsion? And what is a disorder? A basic way to define obsession is a strong impulse or thought that you do not want, is repetitive, and will not go away. It may make a person uncomfortable, anxious, and even feel unpleasantly overwhelmed. A basic definition of compulsion is an irresistible need to do or say something whether it makes sense or not. If it is not done, lack of acting will cause distress, anxiety, or fear that something bad may happen. The act is done to reduce the anxiety or distress caused by the obsession. A basic definition of disorder is that something is not functioning normally, and is impaired in some way. A person’s normal feelings and the normal/typical way they do things is disrupted. The OCD experience can be something like a mouse running in a wheel that doesn’t seem to end, takes a lot of energy, accomplishes nothing, and goes nowhere. The goal is to use compulsive repetitive behavior to reduce the obsessional distress.

When a person is preoccupied with their OCD cycle, normal everyday functioning is impaired, and their quality of life can be compromised. He or she may be plagued by repetitive endless thoughts about the simplest things like contamination by germs, whether a door to the house or car is really locked, or did I do or say something that resulted in the harm that happened to someone?. The person has to do something or the anxiety and distress can be unbearable. For example, unnecessary checking many times to see if the door really is locked, if the windows really are closed, or washing hands over and over because there may be germs on the paper towel dispenser or doorknob. These are frequent examples of OCD. It can take 5 or 10 minutes to leave a public restroom, or 15 or 20 minutes to leave the house due to the need to repeatedly check that everything is locked or turned off. The compulsive checking is an attempt to reduce the distress, and to prevent what they are afraid will happen if they don’t. This can be timeconsuming and interfere with daily life.

Another impact of OCD, which can be useful, is having to have things symmetrical, balanced, and in proper proportion. When the person sees that something is asymmetrical, unbalanced, or out of proportion, that can be disturbing and needs to be corrected. Improperly placed items on a counter, pictures hung haphazardly, or items on a shelf placed in the wrong order has led to an occasional conflict or complaint between partners. On the other hand, attention to detail like that can make a good employee, or an accomplished carpenter, artist or designer. It depends on the situation.

OCD is well-researched. Depending on the study, about one out of 100 people suffer with this problem regardless of the age group, adults or children. Women account for a little more than half the people with OCD. OCD typically develops gradually and lasts a long time if untreated. There are also problems that can occur along with OCD to include anxiety, depression, and even an eating disorder can occur, such as anorexia and bulimia.

There are different theories about how OCD starts. One theory suggests that the sufferer has been exposed to something that was associated with pain or some type of serious distress, probably many times. Once that something has acquired the ability to trigger those unpleasant feelings, the person will want to avoid or get away each time that something is encountered in order to reduce the anxiety. Psychologists suggest a second theory which says that OCD is the result of inaccurate thinking. The person has a high expectation that a relatively safe situation is dangerous. For example, touch the doorknob and a serious infection may occur. Another example of inaccurate thinking is a magnified and exaggerated expectation of how bad the consequence will be if they do or don’t do something. Another type of thinking is that since there is no guarantee that a situation is safe, then it must be dangerous. Then that person needs frequent or even constant reassurance that it really is safe.

Psychologists have developed a variety of ways to treat OCD. Different cognitive-behavioral therapies, generally known as CBT, have a good track record. CBT is not a single therapy. It is a collection of similar therapies, all of which focus on thinking. It can be a real relief to finally be free from thoughts that you don’t want, and being compelled to do or avoid things that you feel forced to do whether you want to do it or not.