Technically speaking, OCD is characterized by recurrent and persistent unwanted thoughts, images, or bodily sensations that provoke significant anxiety or high distress. As a response to this distress, the individual engages in repetitive acts, otherwise known as compulsions. These repetitive acts function to reduce the distress caused by the obsessions.
What are obsessions? Obsessions can range from intrusive repetitive thoughts, images, and bodily sensations to external stimuli, such as colors, words, or sounds. What makes an otherwise neutral stimulus become an obsession is its persistent nature and the level of distress that it generates in the OCD sufferer.
What are compulsions? Compulsions follow the obsessions. In other words, they are any acts that the OCD sufferer engages in to reduce, neutralize, or get rid of the anxiety triggered by the obsessions. Compulsions are categorized into physical and mental:
Physical compulsions are observable behaviors, such as washing hands, tapping, cleaning, checking if doors are locked, arranging items, and seeking reassurance from others.
Mental compulsions are internal and cannot be seen by others. Mental compulsions include replaying events and conversations, praying, repeating mantras over and over, counting, and rumination.
What makes an otherwise neutral mental activity become a compulsion is how excessively the sufferer engages with it and how hard it is for them to stop themselves from doing it. While compulsions can offer momentary relief from anxiety, they ultimately reinforce the OCD cycle and leave the sufferer feeling exhausted and stuck.
OCD is a highly distressing condition that manifests in recurrent obsessions that lead to compulsive acts or rituals. Compulsions can be physical (checking stove) or mental (replaying events over and over in your head). Compulsions function to momentarily reduce the anxiety triggered by the obsessions (unwanted stimuli) but do not teach the sufferer how to effectively cope with anxiety and ultimately recover from OCD.
Fortunately, recovery from OCD is possible, and the journey starts by identifying the idiosyncratic way OCD shows up for you:
The answers to these questions can provide important data on how to work with your OCD.
If you believe you or someone you care about might be struggling with OCD, please know that you are not alone, and that recovery is possible with proper treatment.
© Copyright 2007 - 2025 GoodTherapy.org. All rights reserved.The preceding article was solely written by the author named above. Any views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org.