Signs and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder

OCD symptoms can occur at any stage in your life. The symptoms of this disorder can be divided into two groups:

Obsessions

These are recurrent, persistent, unwanted ideas, thoughts or impulses that a person suffering from OCD experiences involuntarily. Common obsessions include:

• Constantly thinking about certain sounds, images, words or numbers
• Fear of harming a family member or friend
• Fear of dirt or contamination
• Concern with order, symmetry and exactness
• Fear of thinking evil or sinful thoughts

Compulsions

These are repetitive behaviors that a person suffering from OCD is driven to perform regularly to combat his or hers obsessions, even though they may seem irrational.

Typical compulsions include:

• Excessive hand washing
• Repeatedly checking that doors are locked and appliances are turned off
• Arranging items in a precise order
• Repeatedly counting to the same number
• Touching certain objects a precise number of times

The thing is that, when someone performs these rituals, he or she may feel some relief from anxiety, but not for long. Soon the discomfort felt before returns, and then a person feels compelled to repeat behaviors. Symptoms of OCD are also seen in other brain disorders such as Tourette's syndrome.

Perfectionism and OCD

Although most people believe that the obsessive-compulsive disorder and perfectionism are the same thing there's a difference between them. If someone is perfectionist and likes to do everything perfectly that doesn't mean he or she has obsessive-compulsive disorder. That just means that a person holds itself to a very high standard of performance in all that he or she does. These are not the behaviors seen in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behaviors associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder interfere with everyday functioning.

Differential Diagnosis

Certain disorders have similar or even the same symptoms as OCD. The clinician, therefore, has to differentiate against the following disorders to establish a precise diagnosis.

• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Antisocial Personality Disorder
• Schizoid Personality Disorder
• Personality Change Due to a General Medical Condition
• Symptoms that may develop in association with chronic substance use.