Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by persistant and repetitive thoughts and behaviors that are often upsetting and disruptive to a person's day-to-day life. The symptoms of OCD may range from mild to severe. Severe OCD may be chronic and disabling.
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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by persistant and repetitive thoughts and behaviors that are often upsetting and disruptive to a person's day-to-day life. The symptoms of OCD may range from mild to severe. Severe OCD may be chronic and disabling.
For many years, mental health professionals thought of OCD as a rare disease because only a small minority of their patients had the condition. The disorder often went unrecognized because many of those afflicted with OCD, in efforts to keep their repetitive thoughts and behaviors secret, failed to seek treatment. This led to underestimates of the number of people with the illness. However, a survey conducted in the early 1980s by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)--the Federal agency that supports research nationwide on the brain, mental illnesses, and mental health--provided new knowledge about the prevalence of OCD. The NIMH survey showed that OCD affects more than 2 percent of the population, meaning that OCD is more common than such severe mental illnesses as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or panic disorder. OCD strikes people of all ethnic groups. Males and females are equally affected. Although OCD symptoms typically begin during the teenage years or early adulthood, recent research shows that some children develop the illness at earlier ages, even during the preschool years. Studies indicate that at least one-third of cases of OCD in adults began in childhood. IF YOU HAVE OCD THEN THIS GROUP IS FOR YOU.
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