Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is marked by obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are thoughts that recur and persist, even after being confronted or after attempts to ignore them. Compulsions are rituals performed in an attempt to mitigate anxiety or fear.
Many people who have OCD see it manifest in the compulsions that often accompany or are triggered by the obsessions they have.
The most common fixations and compulsions from OCD are:
- Death - one of the most common fixations for those with OCD is death or things related to death, either themselves dying or family members or loved ones dying. Many compulsions are performed to keep this death from happening, even if the actions are completely unrelated to anything that could cause death.
- Sex - sexual feelings, fantasies, and thoughts are often a part of OCD. These thoughts can be erotic, disturbing, or both. Often, disquieting or highly erotic thoughts may occur at inopportune times or during inappropriate moments.
- Hand washing - is the classic example of compulsion and is likely the most-often reported type of compulsive behavior.
- Hoarding - hoarding objects of little or no value or which have no logical explanation as to why they are a fixation is a very common manifestation of OCD. Often, those who horde objects treat them as living, sentient beings.
- Skin and hair plucking - continually picking at skin or plucking out hairs (especially eyebrows, eyelashes, etc) is a common manifestation of OCD. Often, these nervous behaviors are tied to deeper, stronger fixations.
- Fear of germs - is a common OCD trait. Whether it manifests as obsessively cleaning, an obsession with cleaning chemicals, or a strong fear of other people or "unclean" objects, this compulsion is often one of the more debilitating of the OCD manifestations.
- Cleanliness - is often combined with or can be separate from a fear of germs. Some people are just "too neat" but often this can turn to real issues such as continual polishing, scrubbing, and a fixation on spotlessness.
- Organization - combined with or separate from cleanliness, this is the compulsion to organize even the most mundane or disorganized things. From putting books in alphabetical order to organizing paper clips by size, this is a very common OCD manifestation that can be mild or severe.
- Counting - is another very common OCD manifestation. It is often a mixture of obsession (numbers or objects) and compulsion (the need to count, add up, or otherwise "number" things).
- Repeating words or phrases - either those that make sense or that are nonsensical is a common obsession. It can be a compulsion, but is often done internally (not said aloud) or is mumbled or only said in private. Words may be from a childhood incident, a dream, or just jumbles of sounds that have no meaning themselves.
These are only the common manifestations. Many obsessions and compulsions can be a part of OCD. These fixations are just one aspect of the overall problem, but are usually the most obvious symptom.
