Living with OCD? Here are some early signs to watch out for
OCD can eat up your time and drain your thoughts.
Living with this condition can be difficult. Know when to seek help. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD, is a condition that is characterised by the urge to repeatedly engage in a certain kind of behaviour that might puzzle and/or amuse others. This compulsive behaviour can indiscriminately affect people of all ages and walks of life. If you think someone close to you has been showing some signs — but you are not sure if it is OCD — here is what you should watch out for.
Repetitive behaviour
As mentioned before, a classic sign of OCD is a behaviour that is often repeated. For instance, washing hands or cleaning them with hand sanitizers every now and then, locking doors and then checking on them repeatedly, hoarding items and placing them in an exact position, are some signs of OCD. This kind of behaviour is often joked about and not taken seriously, but living with OCD can be difficult. Also, it can signal other conditions like anxiety.
Following the rules
A person with OCD may feel the need to stick to some self-made rules. According to the magazine Psychology Today, these rules are often rigid and dictatorial. For instance, sticking to certain kind of food every day, eating it in a peculiar manner could be indicative of OCD.
OCD can make a person get into repetitive behaviours that may seem odd to others. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)
Staying in
A person living with OCD can have a tough time leaving the house, owing to the compulsion to keep it clean. So, they may keep organising and re-organising and cleaning their kitchen tops and counters, till it satisfies them. And even then, the cleanliness may not be up to the mark. This habit may hamper with their social life and keep them home bound.
The need to be perfect
OCD can stop you from functioning normally at work. It can make you spend hours at something, make you miss your deadlines, all because of the nagging need to turn up the ‘perfect’ project. If you think you, or a coworker is showing this sign, get professional help.
Thought pattern
Just like anxiety, unwanted thoughts are accompaniment of OCD. Much like paranoia, these thoughts keep building up inside the brain even when there is no truth to them. A person with OCD will entertain these thoughts and act upon them: locking the doors to keep away intruders, checking up on the locks intermittently, cleaning hands out of fear of contamination, etc.
When the aforementioned signs begin to stop you from living and enjoying your life normally, seek a professional’s life, as OCD can eat up your time and drain your thoughts.
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