Obsessive compulsive disorder or OCD is extremely common and is a life limiting anxiety condition. It’s an anxiety condition, because generally the ultimate trigger is the fear of something happening or not happening.
There is no such thing as “a bit OCD”. You can have traits, like straightening towels, checking locks or making sure all the tins are lined up in your cupboard but this is not OCD unless it intrudes into your life so often it’s stopping you from living day to day – that’s OCD.
Common types of experience are:
1. Obsessive thoughts, impulses, images and doubts
2. Compulsions, both in terms of what people try to do and what they think
3. The impairment, distress and difficulty that they cause.
When seen from the outside these can appear bizarre. To the person suffering, they have no choice, no option to stop.
OCD is unlikely to fully take hold and interrupt your normal day to day life immediately. It’s very similar to the anxiety bully. It disguises itself as a friend and promises to keep you safe by helping reduce your anxiety. It’s really your brain’s way of coping with stress, fear, guilt, whatever emotion is uncomfortable enough to require it. When you feel the effects of reduced anxiety or discomfort from carrying out a certain behaviour, your brain, the subconscious part is convinced that this is the way forward so it’s stores the experience and offers it as a solution to your conscious, the next time you feel stress, fear, guilt etc.
None of this is necessarily controllable by the individual at the time. In order to resolve OCD traits or the full condition, it is likely that time with an experienced behavioural therapist will be necessary. There are some very good self-help books out there. Sometimes OCD traits and full-blown OCD can be lessened simply by understanding that you are not “crazy” or “weird” and that it is a very common way for the brain to react to stress or trauma.
Recommended self help book Break Free from OCD by Dr Fiona Challacombe, Dr Victoria Bream Oldfield and Prof. Paul Sanders
