If you are one of those people who wash their hands every ten minutes, or have an obsession with having your wardrobe arranged in a perfect chromatic scale, you have probably been told that you suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) .

Recommended reading: “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: What It Is and How It Manifests Itself.”

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: how do you know if you have it?

In many cases, small “hobbies” for cleaning or other rituals may not constitute any kind of psychological problem. In fact, there are people who may prefer to wash their hands very often, but who do not have the obsessive need to perform this act of cleansing. We would be talking about a case of preference.

However, other people cannot avoid performing these types of compulsions in their daily lives. These people suffer from a disorder called Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), an affectation that, in addition to the already mentioned ritual-compulsive ones, also refers to the obsessive thoughts they have to deal with on a daily basis. OCD affects 1% of adults in the United States .

Signs, Symptoms, and Signals of People With OCD

How can we tell if someone has signs and symptoms of needing professional help? OCD is a complex disorder, and there are multiple diagnostic tests that help mental health professionals know if a person has the disorder.

In addition, OCD can manifest itself subclinically, meaning that there are individuals who are affected by some of its characteristic signs, but not others. These are cases of OCD that don’t meet the minimum diagnostic criteria, but they certainly pose a relative problem for a person’s well-being.

10 Signs and Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

There are certain behavioral patterns and symptoms that can warn us that we’re dealing with a person who has some degree of OCD. These are the ten most common .

1. Compulsive hand washing

Compulsive hand washing or the use of hand sanitizers is often a sign of OCD . This category of people who wash their hands very often is considered a “subtype” among people with OCD.

This constant cleaning act is motivated by his fear of germs. But it can also be due to a phobia of contracting infectious diseases or infecting someone.

How do you seek help if you (or know someone who) suffer from this symptom? If you often think about the danger posed by germs and wash your hands, are afraid that you haven’t washed them properly, or have a permanent and irrational phobia about getting a disease (such as AIDS or an infection), you may have one of the main signs of compulsive hand washing. It’s also a bad sign that you feel the need to have routines for hand washing, such as having to wash every two hours.

2. Thorough and excessive cleaning

Another category of people with OCD is “cleaners. As can be easily deduced, cleaners are those individuals who compulsively clean . They may sweep, scrub, and disinfect their homes to avoid germs or the feeling of impurity. Although the act of cleaning temporarily calms their obsessive thoughts, they soon feel the urge to clean even more thoroughly than the last time.

You should think about getting professional help if you spend several hours a day cleaning up. Still, although obsessive cleaning is a sign that you may have a psychological disorder, it’s not necessarily a sign linked to OCD. Obsessive cleaning may be related to anxiety disorders.

Related post: “Obsession with Cleanliness: Causes, Characteristics and Tips”

3. Reviewing behaviour

Checking behaviors consist of the person having the need to go back 3, 4 or 20 times to check if the oven is on or not, if the door has been left open or closed. It is one of the most frequent compulsions linked to OCD, and affects almost 35% of people who suffer from it .

As with other compulsive behaviors, checkups can lead to a number of obsessions, such as irrational fear of harm or feelings of irresponsibility.

Should you seek help if someone shows this sign? Well, it depends. It is normal that sometimes we check some things, like if we have left the gas on or if we have closed the car properly. But if the check interferes negatively with our daily lives, and for example makes us late to places, it can be a clear sign of OCD.

4. Counting

Some people suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder perform tasks according to certain number patterns, or count mentally while doing their daily chores , for example when washing dishes or climbing stairs. These behaviours can be manifestations of superstitions or irrational beliefs, such as believing that the number 7 is the lucky number, and that can lead them to take seven steps when they cross a pedestrian crossing. This can pose a danger.

Is this sign worrying? It depends on the context. Does it make sense? In some situations, it is probably appropriate to tell. But people with OCD count obsessively and in contexts that don’t bring them anything positive, but rather the opposite: They may put themselves in danger or see their thoughts hijacked by this pathological habit: They can’t get the numbers and counting out of their heads.

5. Organization

People with OCD can be extremely organized , and tend toward perfectionism. Everything should be ordered symmetrically, or in perfect chromatic order, etc. This is a sign that alludes to their need to order everything in an unhealthy way.

We must seek help if we see that our need to sort things out goes beyond the rational. It is natural and perfectly logical for us to want to keep our desk neat and tidy with the tools at hand, but if we feel the need to have all the pens and pencils arranged according to some perfectionist criteria (for example, the year we acquired each one of them) and we feel anxiety if they are not as we think they should be arranged, we may need to talk to a psychologist.

6. Favour for violence

We all take care not to expose ourselves to dangers that could cause our physical integrity to be diminished. We all flee (to a greater or lesser extent) from violent situations and dangers. Also, from time to time, we think about the possibility that we might suffer an accident. The more we try to get rid of these kinds of negative thoughts, the more they come to us, according to various scientific investigations. But this is especially true for people with OCD, who may try to eliminate such thoughts, without success, or they may be very upset by the recurrence of such fatalistic ideas .

When to seek help? Negative thoughts don’t just affect people with OCD. We all have them quite often. But the sign that we have OCD shows up when we engage in (or stop) behaviors to avoid potential dangers, such as not getting into a car or constantly warning someone about the danger of using a gas stove.

7. Disruptive sexual thoughts

As with violent thoughts, people with OCD may experience recurrent thoughts about sexual issues . These thoughts make them uncomfortable, because they are often disturbing and completely unwanted. For example, they may imagine having homosexual relations while being heterosexual (or vice versa).

These obsessive thoughts can be very upsetting, and they can lead someone with OCD to withdraw from certain people he or she feels “puts his or her sexuality at risk. This may be a sign that we should seek professional support.

8. Obsession with their partners

People with OCD also are characterized by obsessive thoughts about their partners . And sometimes they may also show this symptom toward their friends, coworkers and other acquaintances. For example, they are obsessed to the point of breaking up a relationship because they cannot overcome a false rumour about their partner’s fidelity.

This psychological problem can be reflected in the discomfort of coping with uncertainty, and can dynamite many of your personal relationships.

Sentimental breaks generate a situation of stress and sadness, and it is normal that we even feel a little obsessed with him or her. But the sign of OCD occurs when these thoughts become entrenched in our minds and lead to excessive feelings of guilt, failure, or fear.

9. Search for security

The way some people with OCD try to relieve their anxiety is by asking their loved ones for their opinions on whether their behavior is visible or annoying to others . They may feel very worried and uncomfortable during a party, and resort to certain compulsions or rituals to feel safe with themselves.

What are the behaviors that are cause for alert? People who use a friend to calm their anxiety with constant questions may have OCD.

10. Hating your physical appearance

Body Dysmorphic Disorder is usually an OCD-related condition. People with BDD obsessively fixate on some feature of their body that they consider asymmetrical, disproportionate or simply unsightly (it can be the nose, skin, eyes, ears… or any other part of the body). These obsessive thoughts are quite similar to those suffered by people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In fact, they are disorders that are often interconnected and suffered simultaneously.

This does not mean that anyone who dislikes any part of your physique will suffer from BDD, of course. But people with BDD can develop OCD traits. If the influence that this supposed physical defect has on their daily routine and psychological balance is significant, it will be necessary to seek psychological help.