Signs and Symptoms of Severe OCD
OCD presents with consistent symptoms that you can look for if you are concerned that you suffer from this condition. In this section, you can get a closer look at some of the many symptoms that you may have such as:
Obsessive Thoughts
- Anxiety if things aren’t placed in a specific way or aren’t neat, exact, or symmetrical
- Constantly worrying about whether or not you turned a light off, locked the door, or other similar concerns that something terrible may happen due to negligence or forgetfulness
- Not wanting to touch other things or have specific things touch you due to fear of contamination from bacteria, dirt, or toxins
- Repetitive thoughts of engaging in actions or behaviors that you don’t want to do
- Unwanted and intrusive images of matters that are deemed taboo, including sexual, religious, or other harm-focused fears
Compulsive Behaviors
- Excessively washing your hands, showering, cleaning your environment, or otherwise working to ensure that contamination from fears items is limited or mitigated
- Constantly arranging items to make them organized perfectly, even though it isn’t necessary or you are supposed to be doing something else
- Silently repeating a phrase, prayer, mantra, or counting, even when you don’t want to be
- Repeatedly checking doors, locks, stoves, or other things even if it prevents you from leaving the house
- Seeking reassurance from others that nothing terrible has happened or will happen
- Avoidance of people, places, objects, or activities that produce fear and distress
Other Signs and Symptoms of OCD
- Struggles to get to work or school on time, or even at all
- Unable to go to or enjoy any type of social activity
- Troubled relationships as a result of OCD
- Health issues caused by OCD, such as excessive hand washing leading to dermatitis
- Feeling overwhelmed with shame, self-blame, or guilt
- Becoming more anxious the more that you try to control your behaviors
- Failed efforts to resist compulsive behavior and feeling a subjective loss of control and agency over your behavior
- Considering or attempting self-harm or suicide due to feelings of shame, guilt, hopelessness, and helplessness
In many cases, people experience the emergence of OCD symptoms by the time they reach late adolescence or early adulthood. However, you should know that a person of any age could be diagnosed with OCD. To be properly diagnosed with this condition, you will need to meet with a medical provider or mental health professional who can carefully assess your symptoms and assist you in gaining clarity about your condition and hope that it can indeed improve.
Take an OCD Test
Severe OCD affects millions of people worldwide, with 1% of the population suffering from this condition, and is a condition that is very real to you and the millions of other sufferers. It can feel difficult or even embarrassing to talk about your symptoms with other people, which prevents people from getting the help that they need to regain control of their lives.
Many sufferers begin their OCD recovery journey by looking at the symptoms of OCD online and realizing that their fears, worries, doubst, and distressing compulsive behaviors may actually be driven by OCD. It can seem daunting to talk to a doctor or mental health professional about your concerns, but fortunately, you can take online tests that can help you overcome this fear by realizing that you are not alone and that your symptoms may actually be part of a treatable and common mental health condition.
Conclusion
Severe OCD can really have a massive impact on your quality of life. The good news is that there are treatment options that you have available to you that can help you regain control of your life. You deserve to live the life that you want to live. By taking an OCD test, you can learn whether or not you may have severe OCD so that you can seek out the help that you need.