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

Aggressive Obsessions

People with OCD often worry that they will cause harm by impulsively hurting someone just because they can. People with these thoughts typically have no history of violence, nor do they act on their urges or impulses. However, people with OCD often appraise their thoughts as dangerous and overly important, so when a random thought involving harm enters the person's mind, the OCD sufferer begins to worry. They often believe that having such a thought is as bad as performing the action, thus they devote a large amount of their mental effort to attempts to suppress the thoughts. Conversely, this only serves to increase anxiety and perpetuate symptoms. Below are some common fears.

Harming others impulsively

One of the most upsetting types of agressive obsessions concern worries that a person may cause harm to others impulsively. For example, the person may fear that they will punch a friend, when they are not angry, but just because they can. They may be concerned that they might push an elderly person into subway tracks or push a child into oncoming traffic. Another common fear is that the person might grab a steak knife during dinner and stab a loved one. The focial point of these worries is usually loved ones, but can be strangers or pets. Sometimes the person is not worried about harming others, but worries about harming him or herself, which is not to be confused with suicidal ideation as people with these types of fears will do anything to avoid causing the harm they worry about.

Violent and horrific mental images

Violent or horrific images may pop into the person's head unprovoked. These may include thigs like mutilated bodies, cemeteries, etc.

Doing something shocking or embarrasing

  • Fear of blurting out obscenities or insults, swear words (NOT when angry)
  • Fear of doing something else embarrassing (like writing bad things in emails)
  • Fear will steal things (e.g. come home with pockets of stolen items)