OCD Therapy Going Nowhere?

Although any medical doctor can take your blood pressure, only a few can do heart surgery. Likewise, any therapist can help someone who is feeling a bit blue, but only a few can effectively treat OCD. OCD treatment is a type of therapy that requires a specialized protocol called Exposure and Ritual Prevention (ERP or EX/RP). Learn about the Top Mistakes Made by OCD Therapists.

Top Seven Myths About OCD

One stereotype is that people with OCD are neat and tidy to a fault. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Although many people with OCD wash because they are concerned about dirt and germs, being tidy is actually not a typical symptom of the disorder. Almost two-thirds of people with OCD are also hoarders... Learn more about the Top Myths about OCD.

Homosexual Fears in OCD

Sexuality Concerns in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

There are many people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who have sexual obsessions surrounding homosexuality. Homosexuality anxiety is a recognized symptom of OCD, sometimes referred to as "HOCD."

HOCD includes the following:

  • the obsessive fear of being or becoming homosexual
  • the experience of intrusive, unwanted mental images of homosexual behavior, and/or
  • the obsessive fear that others may believe one is homosexual.

A person may have only one of these facets of the disorder or a combination. Learn more about sexual obsessions in OCD.

Take The OCD Self Test

The OCI-R is a short, reliable, scientific test of common obsessive-compulsive symptoms. This measure was developed by OCD experts. Take our OCD Self Test.

About Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Compulsive Counting

Compulsive counting is a common symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder. People with counting compulsions may count because they feel that certain numbers have a special significance, and therefore specific actions must be performed a certain number of times. For example many people with OCD feel that the number four is especially significant, and will therefore do things in sets of fours. For example if they smoke one cigarette, they may feel a sense of incompleteness unless they smoke three more. So they will count the number of cigarettes to be sure they have met the numerical goal.

People with counting compulsions may also count without thinking about a specific number. They might count their steps when walking, count tiles on the ceiling, or count cars driving past. The counting may be mental or aloud.

Typical types of counting

  • Counting steps
  • Counting items
  • Counting behaviors
  • Mental counting