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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) features a pattern of unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive behaviors (compulsions). These obsessions and compulsions interfere with daily activities and cause significant distress.
You may try to ignore or stop your obsessions, but that only increases your distress and anxiety. Ultimately, you feel driven to perform compulsive acts to try to ease your stress. Despite efforts to ignore or get rid of bothersome thoughts or urges, they keep coming back. This leads to more ritualistic behavior ? the vicious cycle of OCD.
OCD often centers around certain themes ? for example, spending the majority of your time obsessing over places that have nothing to do with you and posting non-stop on message boards pretending to be from somewhere you're not.
If you have OCD, you may be ashamed and embarrassed about the condition, but treatment can be effective.
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