Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition that can affect anyone. It’s often misunderstood, but it’s much more common than people think—affecting an estimated 1–2% of the population.
OCD can feel overwhelming, but it is treatable. With the right support, it’s possible to greatly reduce symptoms and improve your quality of life. You’re not alone, and help is available.
The OCD Cycle
At the heart of OCD is a cycle of distressing obsessions and compulsions. Understanding this cycle can help explain why OCD feels so hard to manage.
Intrusive Thoughts (Obsessions)
Intrusive thoughts are random and automatic thoughts, images, or feelings that everyone experiences. For most people, these thoughts are fleeting and easily ignored. But for someone with OCD, certain thoughts feel impossible to dismiss. They create intense anxiety and distress because they seem meaningful, even when they’re not.
It’s important to know that intrusive thoughts are not about what you want to do—they’re about what you fear. For example, someone might have an intrusive thought about harming a loved one. This doesn’t mean they want to do it; it’s the opposite—the thought terrifies them because it goes against their values and who they are.
Compulsions
To relieve the anxiety caused by these obsessions, people with OCD perform compulsions—repetitive behaviours or mental rituals. These can be visible (e.g., checking, cleaning) or less noticeable (e.g., mentally reviewing, seeking reassurance). While compulsions might offer temporary relief, they make the obsessions feel more important, reinforcing the cycle.
What Does OCD Feel Like?
Living with OCD can be exhausting, confusing, and isolating. OCD involves a cycle of relentless doubt and an overwhelming need for certainty that can feel impossible to achieve.
When you have OCD, you might find yourself second-guessing your thoughts, identity, or values, which can be deeply unsettling and make it hard to trust your own sense of reality. Even when a person with OCD knows logically that their fears are unlikely or irrational, doubt creates an unbearable sense of “what if.” This anxiety often leads to compulsions that temporarily soothe the fear but ultimately reinforce the cycle, making it harder to break free.
OCD also has a way of targeting the things that matter most to you, such as your intentions, relationships, identity, or sense of safety. This can make it feel deeply personal and isolating, as though no one else could possibly understand what you’re going through.
“When I realised my intrusive thoughts didn’t make me a bad person, it was like a weight lifted.”
People with OCD often feel ashamed, alone, or misunderstood. It’s important to remember that these feelings are part of the condition, not who you are.
Subtypes of OCD
OCD follows the same cycle of obsessions and compulsions for everyone, but the themes of intrusive thoughts and the kinds of compulsions people perform can vary widely. Some people find it helpful to label their “type” of OCD based on these themes.
For example, subtypes can be especially helpful for people who experience socially “taboo” intrusive thoughts, such as fears of harming others or being a paedophile. These thoughts can be so difficult to talk about that recognising them within a specific subtype can help people feel less alone. It also provides access to communities of people with shared experiences, offering understanding and reducing the sense of isolation.
Here are some common subtypes of OCD:
- HOCD (Harm OCD)
- POCD (Paedophilia OCD)
- ROCD (Relationship OCD or Religious OCD)
- Pure O (where a person mainly or exclusively experiences mental compulsions)
- Contamination OCD
- Sexual Orientation OCD
- Moral Scrupulosity OCD
- Existential OCD
- False Memory OCD
- Real Event OCD
- Sensorimotor or Somatic OCD
- Perinatal OCD
It’s important to know that subtypes of OCD are not separate conditions; they are all part of OCD and follow the same cycle of symptoms. OCD treatment is the same no matter what subtype you experience. No subtype of OCD is untreatable, and evidence-based treatments like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) are effective for all presentations of OCD.
Themes can also change over time. Someone with one theme of OCD might later experience a completely different theme, but the approach to treatment remains the same: breaking the obsessive-compulsive cycle rather than focusing on the specific content of intrusive thoughts.
👉 Read more about treatment for OCD here.
You’re Not Alone
OCD can make you feel deeply isolated, but it’s important to know you’re not alone. Many people with OCD share similar experiences and can offer understanding and support.
Connecting with others who live with OCD can help you feel seen and supported. OCD Action offers online peer support groups where you can meet people who understand what you’re going through.
👉 Learn more about our support groups here.