11 Facts About Obsessive Compulsive Disorders (OCD)

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  1. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental anxiety disorder which, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, produces:
    • Repeated thoughts or images about many different things, such as fear of germs, dirt, or intruders; acts of violence; hurting loved ones; sexual acts; conflicts with religious beliefs; or being overly tidy
    • Doing the same rituals over and over such as washing hands, locking and unlocking doors, counting, keeping unneeded items, or repeating the same steps again and again
    • Lack of ability to control the unwanted thoughts and behaviors
    • Brief relief from the anxiety the thoughts cause when performing rituals
    • Spending at least 1 hour a day on the thoughts and rituals, which cause distress and get in the way of daily life.
  2. Daniel Radcliffe, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Megan Fox and Justin Timberlake are all celebrities who have lived with OCD.
  3. On average, people are diagnosed with OCD when they are 19-years-old.
  4. In the U.S. 1 in 40 adults and 1 in 100 children face OCD.
  5. According to the World Health Organization, anxiety disorders, like OCD, are more prevalent in developed countries than in developing countries.
  6. OCD symptoms are divided between obsessions and compulsions, which in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- 5th Edition, are:
    • ​Obsessions:
      • Recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or impulses that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and unwanted, and that in most individuals cause marked anxiety or distress.
      • The individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, urges, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action (i.e., by performing a compulsion).
    • Compulsions are defined by (1) and (2):
      • Repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.
      • The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing anxiety or distress, or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent, or are clearly excessive.
  7. The difference between OCD in adults and in children is that children may not be able to realize the reason for their behavior or thoughts (or that their behaviors or thoughts are unusual).
  8. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and medication are two ways of treating OCD.
  9. According to recent research, people with family members who suffer from OCD might be predisposed to the illness. Also, as an anxiety disorder, experts believe that OCD might also be linked to levels of serotonin in the brain and stress or illness may trigger its symptoms.
  10. OCD is treatable, and people who suffer from it can live a normal life.
  11. OCD may affect men and women equally.

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Sources: BeyondOCD, American Psychiatric Association, Healthy Place: America's Mental Health Channel

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