Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition characterized by distressing, intrusive, obsessive thoughts and repetitive, compulsive physical or mental acts.
OCD often centres on themes such as a fear of germs or the need to arrange objects in a specific manner. Symptoms usually begin gradually and vary throughout life. Treatment includes talk therapy, medication or both.
OCD and OCD symptoms can be hard for therapists to recognize, as well as for those who suffer from it. In fact, alot of people have been diagnosed people with OCD for decades but didn’t know that’s what the problem was.
So, how can you know if you have OCD?
Here are 5 subtle symptoms of OCD, and what you can do about it:
1. You have relationship obsessions.
It’s normal to have doubts about your romantic relationship at times. If you have OCD, these doubts may lead to constant anxiety.
You may become fixated on whether you really love your partner, or whether you truly know if they are “the one” for you. These obsessions can be so unsettling they can cause you to end a relationship just to be rid of the anxiety.
2. You compulsively wash your hands
It’s good to wash your hands before eating and after using the bathroom, as well as before preparing food.
Do you often have trouble limiting hand washing to the recommended 20 seconds? Do you often not feel right unless you wash your hands repeatedly?
3. Contamination concerns
In the age of COVID-19, it’s good to think about how you can stay safe from virus exposure.
However, if you take more drastic steps than most people to avoid germs (coronavirus or otherwise), HIV, sexually transmitted infections, or other illnesses, it may be a symptom of OCD.
4. Needing to feel “just right”
This symptom involves the need to do something repeatedly until it feels “just right.” This feeling can be either physical or mental, and it feels important to achieve it before you can move on.
5. Harm obsessions
These are fears that you have harmed or will harm others without meaning to.
For example, wondering if you accidentally hit a pedestrian on your morning commute and didn’t notice, or fearing that you’ll punch an elderly person when walking down the street if you don’t put your hands in your pockets.
What should you do if you have one or more of the warning signs?
As you can tell from the list above, OCD can be easy to identify or very difficult, depending on the symptoms.
If any of the items on the above list are a problem for you, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have OCD.
It is, however, recommended that you consider getting an evaluation from a mental health professional with experience diagnosing OCD. This can provide helpful clarity on the nature of the problem — whether or not it turns out to be OCD.
The recommended treatments for OCD are either a specific form of therapy called exposure and response prevention or certain medications. Both types of treatment have been shown to be significantly helpful.
