Obsessions are distressing and uncontrollable recurrent thoughts, ideas, or urges. For example, constantly thinking the stove has not been turned off and constantly thinking you got a Mathematics problem wrong.
Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts one feels compelled to perform. For example, checking the stove frequently or turning the stove off in a ritualistic pattern and doing a Mathematical calculation over and over or in a ritualistic pattern.
Obsessions may be strange—one might have images or thoughts of massive bacteria on doorknobs or coins. This is a contamination obsession. Other common obsessions include the following:
Doubt, such as concern about leaving the front door open
Need for order, such as the need to have shoes organized by size and type of food organized by the expiration date
Impulses toward aggression, such as intolerable thoughts about harming an infant
Sexual imagery, such as recurrent mental pictures of pornography
2-3% of people have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Women and men have approximately equal chances of getting OCD. Symptoms typically start in early adolescence or young adulthood. It tends to be chronic if not treated.
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