Thats roughly 1% of the countrys population.
With OCD, those are the compulsions, says Dr. Yip.
The compulsions might be washing, checking, seeking reassurance, repeating, counting, and so on.
There are different types of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) that revolve around common themes or obsessions.
As she explains, these compulsions serve to relieve the person of their anxiety or distress.
However, the relief they feel is only temporary and usually only lasts until the next intrusive obsession returns.
What are the different subtypes of OCD obsessions?
OCD obsessions tend to revolve around common themes, or subtypes.
Practically, this is where those hand-washing stereotypes come into play.
They feel compelled to do it to allay the underlying anxiety they are feeling.
Harm OCD involves the fear of harming oneself or others, whether purposely or inadvertently.
Unwanted-sexual-thoughts OCD involves the fear of having or acting on forbidden, perverse, or taboo sexual thoughts.
The key here isunwantedthoughts, which means that having these thoughts does not make you a pedophile.
Its important to remember that if you have unwanted-sexual-thoughts OCD, you dont actually want to do these things.
Other examples of OCD themes may include:
Compulsive hoarding also used to be considered a subtype of OCD.
What are common OCD compulsions?
It may also include excessive washing of the hands, hair, or other body parts to decontaminate them.
Checking can be found in many different forms of OCD.
Repeating is commonly found in perfectionism OCD, among other types.
It often appears as repeating certain activities, like rereading a line in a book or rewriting an email.
Sometimes people may repeat physical activities, such as tapping something or blinking.
Sometimes you may feel compelled to repeat an activity a certain number of times until it feels right.
Arranging is also common in just-right OCD, although it may appear in other subtypes too.
It may also include arranging or adjusting things until they look or feel perfect.
Reassurance seeking is often found across various subtypes of OCD.
It involves seeking excessive reassurance from yourself or others about intrusive thoughts and obsessions.
In health OCD, someone might frequently ask their doctor whether they are at risk for a certain disease.
In someone with harm OCD, it might look like constantly asking a loved one if theyve hurt them.
Avoidance is a compulsion that many people with OCD engage in as a natural response to their anxiety.
As Dr. Yip explains, Whenever we experience fear, our natural inclination is to go into avoidance mode.
Although rumination is not a visible compulsion, people with OCD can spend hours ruminating.
It can look different from person to person, and generally relates to their specific OCD subtypes.
Does OCD present differently in children?
But despite OCDs being one of the most common anxiety disorders, its still surprisingly misdiagnosedespecially in children.
And it takes an average of 14 to 17 years to receive proper treatment of OCD.
In children, diagnosing this condition can be even more complex, she explains.
Toys lined up a certain way, shoes lined up, they cant have the picture frame off.
And these are just a few of the behaviors that a parent or caregiver might notice.
But its actually very common, and its underrepresented.
ERP is a bang out of cognitive behavioral therapy, Dr. Yip explains.
The purpose is to practice being in an anxiety-provoking situation and responding differently, she says.
With help, you could work toward feeling better.
