Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, involves having persistent intrusive thinking patterns that can include unwanted thoughts, images or urges that make a person feel anxious or distressed.
Individuals who have OCD often have significant difficulty pushing away or ignoring these thoughts. Those with OCD also have compulsive behaviors which are an attempt to stop the obsessive thoughts and the distress that comes with them by performing some sort of action.
Common signs, according to the International OCD Foundation, of OCD are:
Obsessions:
- Fear of contamination
- Perfectionism
- Fear of harming self or others
- Moral/Religious/Scrupulosity
- Sexual Orientation
- Relationships
Compulsions:
- Checking
- Reassurance seeking
- Repeating actions
- Washing and Cleaning
- Ordering/Arranging
- Neutralizing/Undoing
- Avoiding feared circumstances
If one or more of the above symptoms resonates with you, I encourage you to look into OCD therapy today. Research shows that the most effective treatments for OCD are Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT), and/or medication.
As a licensed mental health professional, I have extensive training in helping people overcome and grow from their OCD. And together, we’ll create a strategy that works explicitly for you. Contact me today for a free consultation.
