Types of Obsessions

• Contamination Fears
• Causing Harm by Accident
• Causing Harm to Others on Purpose
• Sexual Obsessions
• Religious Obsessions
• Hoarding and Saving
• Symmetry and Exactness
• Other Types of Obsessions
• Types of Compulsions
• Washing and Cleaning
• Checking
• Repeating
• Counting
• Ordering and Arranging
• Mental Rituals
• Hoarding and Collecting
• Other Compulsions
• OCD Tests
• YBOCS Symptom Checklist
• YBOCS OCD Severity Scale
• OCI-R Self-Test for OCD
• Related Disorders
• Trichotillomania
• Compulsive Tics

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

Ordering & Arranaging

People with OCD who tend to be primarily preoccupied with order and exactness tend to engage in compulsive behaviors that include repetitive arranging, organizing or lining up of objects until certain conditions are met or the end result feels "just right." For example, patients may write letters over and over again until they look right or may meticulously line up the shoes in their closet so that they form one continuous straight row. Individuals with this type of OCD may also engage in counting, tapping, and touching behaviors.