What is obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and what are its symptoms?
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by the sufferer experiencing repeated obsessions and/or compulsions that interfere with the person’s ability to function socially, occupationally, or educationally, either as a result of the amount of time that is consumed by the symptoms or the marked fear or other distress suffered by the person. Conventional knowledge is that there are four types of OCD: obsessions that are aggressive, sexual, religious or harm-related with checking compulsions; obsessions about symmetry that are accompanied by arranging or repeating compulsions; obsessions of contamination are associated with cleaning compulsions; and symptoms of hoarding. An obsession is defined as a thought, impulse, or image that either recurs or persists and causes severe anxiety. These thoughts are irresistible to the OCD sufferer despite the person’s realizing that these thoughts are irrational. Examples of obsessions include worries about germs/