Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
(OCD) consists of the presence of obsessions or compulsions that cause
significant distress or impairment. 
Obsessions
are thoughts a person knows is their own that contain possible events that upset
and worry the person having them. These worries often consist of actions that
are repugnant to the person having them (“I would never do that …”)
but they nevertheless fear they may do them. Similarly, some compulsions consist
of fears of harm coming to the person having the obsessive thoughts (“If
I touch the doorknob I might get germs …”). One of the common properties
of all obsessions is that they cause the person experiencing them to become anxious
and upset. Compulsions are behaviors, like checking, washing, arranging, etc,
that are intended to reduce the anxiety precipitated by the obsession. However, the compulsions
seldom allay the fears from the obsessions, so the behaviors are repeated
over and over in an effort to extinguish the obsessive fears. Note that repeated
behaviors that seek pleasure are not truly compulsions (gambling, shopping, etc)
and should not be referred to as “compulsive shopping” or compulsive
gambling”.
