Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that affects 2 to 3 percent of the U.S. population. OCD is characterized by consuming thoughts and beliefs that typically lead to the uncontrollable performance of behaviors. For a person to be diagnosed with OCD, his or her obsessions and/or compulsions must significantly negatively impact his or her life, such as an inability to work.

There are four types of OCD: (1) contamination/cleaning, characterized by overwhelming thoughts of filth and the need to remove the filth by cleaning; (2) obsessions/checking, characterized by a fanatical need to check on things (like making sure a stove is off or a door is locked); (3) symmetry/ordering, where a person visually requires items to be as symmetrical as possible and will arrange ...