What is obsessive-compulsive disorder?
Obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, is an anxiety disorder involving obsessions and compulsions to such an extent that they interfere with day to day living. Obsessions are irrational, disturbing thoughts that repeatedly come to a person’s consciousness. The response is often a compulsion, or a behaviour that resolves the obsession. For example, if someone is obsessed by the thought that they will run someone over with their car, they may compulsively retrace their route to make sure no one was hit. Cleaning compulsions are also quite common.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) i s one o f the most common psychiatric illnesses affecting young people. OCD is an illness in which obsessions and/or compulsions are present. Obsessions are unwanted thoughts, images or impulses which cause distress. Compulsions are behaviors or actions performed to alleviate the distress caused by unwanted intrusive thoughts. To be diagnosed with OCD, the obsessions or compulsions must last for more than one hour a day, or cause significant distress, or significantly impair daily functioning. Avoidance of various stimuli — objects, persons, images, thoughts, etc. — that trigger obsessions and compulsions is common in OCD, which affects approximately 2%-3% of all children and adolescents in the United States. Although adults with OCD are usually aware that the obsessions or compulsions are unreasonable or excessive, this insight is not always present in children and adolescents.
