There is a public misconception that obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is just a minor personality quirk or preference and that everyone is “a little bit OCD.” In reality, OCD is a serious and often debilitating mental health disorder that affects people of all ages ^[1] and walks of life, and occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions ^[2].

Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that trigger intensely distressing feelings. Compulsions are behaviors an individual engages in to attempt to get rid of the obsessions and/or decrease distress.

Most people have obsessive thoughts and/or compulsive behaviors at some point in their lives, but that does not mean that we all have “some OCD.” In order for a diagnosis of OCD to be made, this cycle of obsessions and compulsions must be so extreme that it consumes a lot of time (more than an hour every day), causes intense distress, or gets in the way of important activities that the person values.