Obsessive compulsive disorder(OCD)

• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition. It causes a person to have obsessive thoughts and carry out compulsive activity.
• This can be distressing and have a big impact on your life. Treatment can help you keep it under control.

Symptoms of OCD

• OCD affects people differently. It usually causes a particular pattern of thought and behaviour.
• This pattern has 4 main steps:
• Obsession – where an intrusive, distressing thought, image or urge repeatedly enters your mind.
• Anxiety – the obsession provokes a feeling of intense anxiety or distress.
• Compulsion – repetitive behaviours or mental acts that you feel you have to do as a result of the anxiety and distress caused by the obsession.
• Temporary relief – the compulsive behaviour brings temporary relief, but the obsession and anxiety return, causing the cycle to begin again.