What does Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) feel like?

Janet, a homemaker, has become overwhelmed with thoughts of forgetting things. She constantly checks to see if she has locked her car doors. It takes her up to fifteen minutes and multiple checks to be able to park her car and get to her destination. Recently, she has started leaving work in the middle of the day to check her car locks. These rituals have grown more time consuming, and Janet worries that her actions are beginning to affect her life negatively.

Charles, an artist, has trouble throwing anything away. Over the years, he has collected baseball cards, magazines, newspapers, and other items. His apartment is so cluttered that he has a hard time walking through it. Sometimes he finds himself saving junk mail and other things he knows he will never need. The thought of throwing these things out makes Charles anxious, although he worries that eventually there will be no space for him to live comfortably.

Andrew, a nurse, is obsessed with germs. His profession dictates that he wash his hands routinely, but Andrew often washes his hands seventy-five times a day. He is terrified of getting sick, and working in a hospital leaves him plagued with thoughts of deadly contamination. When he arrives home from work, he takes off his clothing in the laundry room. He believes he is contaminated, and for this reason he spends over an hour in the shower before relaxing in his home.

Janet, Charles, and Andrew all suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). They struggle with a neurobiological disturbance that fills their minds with unwanted thoughts and compulsions to perform repetitive, senseless rituals. OCD is characterized by obsessions and compulsions that are time-consuming, distressing, and interfere with normal routines, relationships, and daily activities. OCD can manifest itself in other ways in addition to the ones presented thus far, but one consistency is the obsessive and compulsive thoughts and activities that interfere with peoples’ lives.