Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Physical compulsions: 

• Repeatedly washing hands 
• Ordering, arranging and cleaning surrounding spaces (e.g. room, house, study space etc) 
• Checking things repeatedly (e.g. that the door is definitely shut and the hair straightener is definitely off)  
• Repeating, touching, tapping, e.g. turning a light on and off repeatedly until it feels ‘just right’, or tapping a water glass against your teeth four times when you sip because it feels like ‘something bad might happen’ if you don’t do it 
• Seeking reassurance from others that everything is ok  
• Avoiding any situations or places that could potentially trigger obsessive thoughts or behaviours, e.g. a public restroom due to fear of germs, not using the stove due to fear of burning down the house 

Physical compulsions are sometimes called ‘rituals’. 

Mental compulsions: 

• ‘Thought neutralisation’ - deliberately replacing distressing thoughts with more pleasant ones, e.g. thinking about your dog playing, after having imagined him being badly hurt 
• Mental checking – bringing up obsessive thoughts to ‘check’ how you feel about them at different times/on different days 
• Mental rehearsal – practicing future events in your mind to help you prepare, e.g. practicing going to a doctor’s appointment 
• Self-punishment – mentally abusing or judging yourself for bad thoughts, e.g. ‘I’m a terrible person for thinking these things’ 
• Self-reassurance – telling yourself good thoughts about yourself, especially when you have distressing thoughts, e.g. ‘I’m still a good person’
• Prayers, mantras or repeated phrases, e.g. thinking, ‘It’s not me, it’s my OCD’ after a distressing thought 
• Wishing your OCD away
• Trying to ‘solve’ OCD