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

Hoarding & Collecting

Hoarding is a particularly disabling type of OCD. It is characterized by the acquisition of many items that often appear worthless and by difficulty in discarding such items.

Hoarding can be very embarassing and distressing. It frequently develops into a vicious cycle where individuals almost literally become trapped in their own homes. Excess clutter can result in difficulty moving aroung within the home and decreased home utility. For example, showers and ovens may be sacrificed for extra storage space. Sometimes hoarders will fill storage units once their homes become filled.

Compulsive hoarding is not the same as hobbies and saving objects of monetary or sentimental value. Hoarders may carefully read junk mail, collect piles of old newspapers, sort through garbage to "rescue" useful things, and collect useless objects or free items.

Hoarders, in comparison to OCD patients without hoarding symptoms, report greater anxiety and depression, poorer insight, and social problems e.g., social isolation. A distinctive feature of hoarders is excessive emotional attachment to possessions, difficulties in categorizing and organizating, problems with decision making, and concerns about not being about to remeber important things.