When do seemingly harmless personality traits actually cross the line into OCD territory?
Do you constantly reach for your go-to hand sanitizer? Is every button in your closet organized? These peculiarities are typically written off as personality eccentricities or odd preferences. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a notorious condition marked by compulsions and obsessive thoughts that is more common than we think, may occasionally be a more serious issue at play in the background.
But, how does one tell if their OCD inclinations are actual
symptoms that call for professional help? According to the executive
director of the Boston-based International OCD Foundation, Jeff
Szymanski, Ph.D., there isn’t some simple black and white test to
determine who needs help and who doesn’t. Generally, it’s a matter of
degrees. Yet, there are certain distinct patterns that could signify a
full-blown case of OCD. The following are a list of the most common
ones.
1. Hand Washing
Compulsive
use of hand sanitizers or washing of hands is so widespread in OCD that
currently, “washers” is an accepted distinct subcategory of OCD
patients. This urge usually springs from a terror of germs and
pathogens; however, experts explain it could also stem from a fear of
feeling impure or making others ill.
If
you’re obsessing about germs post-hand-washing or possess irrational
fears regarding diseases, for example, contracting HIV from a public
door, then this could be a warning sign.
2. Overzealous Cleaning
Those
OCD patients, who happen to fall under the “washers” category, can also
have a need for compulsive cleaning. As is the case with hand washing,
patients often perceive housecleaning as a means to ease their fear of
germs or feelings of being impure or ‘immoral’. Usually, cleaning
provides only a temporary relief from their obsessive thoughts for their
urge to clean gets progressively stronger during their next episode.
3. “Checking Behavior”
Returning
four, five, or even 25 times to ensure the front door has been locked,
or the oven has been switched off is what experts refer to as ‘checking
behaviors’, and these happen to be the most common compulsions seen in
OCD patients. Close to 30% of those who suffer from OCD happen to be
afflicted with this behavior. It has been theorized that this compulsion
could be driven by a deep-rooted fear of getting physically hurt or
even an ingrained feeling of irresponsibility.
4. Counting
A
subset of patients who suffer from OCD happen to perform daily tasks
through count or according to specific numeric patterns – for example,
they might count to themselves as they climb a staircase or clean the
kitchen platform specifically 9 times. Such behaviors can stem from
superstitions. For example, the belief that number 7 is prosperous may
cause someone to think they could cause themselves or somebody else harm
if they don’t swipe each window clean 7 times.
5. Organization
Those
who suffer from OCD usually take their organizing to another level
altogether – perfectionism. According to Szymanski, “It has to feel just
right, looks just right, be symmetrical, be the right number [of
items].” Such fussiness often stems from obsessions with symmetry or
order.
6. Fear Of Violence
We
all have those occasional, fleeting thoughts about suffering
misfortunes or getting hurt. Research indicates that the more an
individual endeavors to avoid such thoughts, the more likely are they to
pop into his or her head – and this, apparently, is even more the case
for OCD patients. According to Szymanski, “[They] could be trying harder
to suppress these thoughts or they may react more intensely to them
because they deem them as unacceptable.”
7. Unwelcome Sexual Thoughts
As
with fears of violence, recurring unwelcome thoughts about taboo or
inappropriate sexual behavior frequently occurs in those suffering from
OCD. Patients could, for a moment, imagine themselves groping a
coworker, molesting a strange child or even wondering whether they’re
actually gay rather than heterosexual (or vice versa).
8. Dwelling On Relationships
Those
who suffer from OCD are recognized for obsessively dissecting present
or past relationships with coworkers, friends, romantic partners, and
even family members. They may brood over at length on whether the
offhand comment they made at work happened to alienate a colleague, or
whether a trivial misunderstanding or miscommunication may have actually
ruined their romantic relationship. Such a mindset could reflect that
people who suffer from OCD possess an “exaggerated sense of
responsibility” and have a difficult time accepting any uncertainties in
their life.
“Breaking up with a
girlfriend or boyfriend can make anyone ‘obsess,’ whether or not they
have OCD,” says Boston-based psychiatrist at Massachusetts General
Hospital, Michael Jenicke, MD. However, it could be a very real sign of
OCD if you can’t get rid of such thoughts from your head and they end up
snowballing into “excessive self-doubt” or fears of not being a good
person.
If you worry that you may be
suffering from OCD, book an appointment with a psychiatrist or ask your
general physician for a recommendation in order to get an evaluation.