How to Identify the Signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can appear at almost any age in life. While the most common age of onset is between 15 and 25, everyone from small children to the elderly can develop this disruptive anxiety disorder. Symptoms range from mild to severe and may consist of only obsessions, only compulsions or both. Because it can cause severe stress and interfere with everyday life, it's important to treat it as soon as possible. However, first you must be able to identify the signs of obsessive compulsive disorder.

Instructions

• 1

  Watch for repetitive activities. If you find yourself washing your hands over and over or touching a doorknob a certain number of times before shutting the door and can't control these actions, you may be suffering from compulsions, which are a classic sign of OCD.

• 2

  Identify obsessions. These are thoughts that keep going through your head without your consent, usually focusing on one topic. Obsessions tend to center around religious or sexual themes, but can be any topic you just can not get out of your head.

• 3

  Pay attention to how obsessions make you feel. Typical OCD obsessions tend to cause the sufferer a great deal of anxiety, often leading to compulsions as a way to relieve the anxiety or ward it off.

• 4

  Ask yourself whether your obsessions and compulsions are rational. Nearly all sufferers of OCD know their symptoms are not rational but feel helpless to stop them. This is a big part of what makes OCD so frustrating to those who suffer from it.

• 5

  Identify feelings of relief after performing compulsions. Since compulsions are often a release valve for the anxieties produced by obsessions, most people who suffer from OCD find they are greatly relieved when they have completed performing their related compulsions.

• 6

  Observe how long you spend each day on performing compulsions. Any compulsions that take up more than 10 minutes of your day to perform may be indicative of OCD.