Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD

It’s possible that at one time or another, one does something out of impulsivity – without even reflecting on it nor having a rational reason to have done it. For example, eating excessively when one becomes anxious, getting in an argument without cause, or doing some online shopping for things that are not needed.

For each of these behaviors there is a preceding motivation or impulse that usually goes unacknowledged. This also happens with folks facing a variety of psychological issues that may be conducive to compulsive behaviors which the individual may have poor control over, and which may turn out to be harmful and/or highly limiting the individual’s life. For example, imagine Joe has an irrational fear that if he uses the stairs or a ladder he will inevitably fall on his head. Thus, Joe’s compulsion is to avoid using stairs/ladders. This has caused him for his life to be limited in that he can only live or work in spaces located the ground door, or only work/live/visit places with elevators. This has limited Joe’s life significantly – a lot of his time is spent in finding ways to circumvent stairs, his family/social/romantic relationships suffer because people become frustrated with him, Joe often stays home if he knows that he cannot avoid stairs and/or because he does not want to “annoy” those around him. Joe is also frustrated with himself and wishes he were “normal”, he struggles with depression due to how limited his life has become due to OCD.