Symptoms of OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder. OCD causes people to have unreasonable fears and thoughts. These unreasonable fears and thoughts are obsessions that result in repetitive behaviors that are called compulsions. The obsessions might be ignored, but this results in increased anxiety and stress, and the compulsive behavior is performed in order to ease the stress.. These obsessions and compulsions are often related to a particular theme.

Obsession Themes

There are four themes listed by the Mayo Clinic for the obsession symptoms in OCD. One theme is involved with cleanliness, reflecting a fear of contamination or dirt. Another theme is having horrific or aggressive impulses. A third theme is having things arranged so that they are symmetrical and orderly. The fourth theme is having sexual thoughts or mental images.

Obsession Symptoms

The symptoms resulting from the obsessions include bald spots or hair loss as a result of pulling it, skin lesions that result from picking at the skin, dermatitis from hand washing frequently, the replaying of pornographic mental images, the impulse to shout obscene words in inappropriate situations and the avoidance of situations that can trigger compulsions such as shaking hands by someone obsessed by germs. A parent can have mental images of hurting her child. Other symptoms include doubts about locking doors or turning off stoves, thoughts of hurting someone in a traffic accident, and fear of contamination from shaking hands or touching places others have touched.

Compulsion Themes

The Mayo Clinic lists six themes for compulsions that are a result of OCD. The first theme is washing and cleaning. The second theme is counting. Another theme is checking. The fourth theme is demanding reassurances. The fifth theme is performing the same action repeatedly. The sixth theme is orderliness.

Compulsion Symptoms

Symptoms of the compulsion side of OCD include washing hands until the skin becomes raw, checking the stove again and again to make sure it is turned off, repeatedly checking doors to make sure they are locked, counting in particular patterns and making sure cans in the kitchen are all facing the same way.