Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce anxiety, by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing anxiety, or by combinations of such thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions). The symptoms of this anxiety disorder range from repetitive hand-washing and extensive hoarding to preoccupation with sexual, religious, or aggressive impulses. These symptoms can be alienating and time-consuming, and often cause severe emotional and economic loss. Although the acts of those who have OCD may appear paranoid and come across to others as psychotic, OCD sufferers often recognize their thoughts and subsequent actions as irrational, and they may become further distressed by this realization. OCD is the fourth most common mental disorder and is diagnosed nearly as often as asthma and diabetes mellitus. In the United States, one in 50 adults has OCD. The phrase "obsessive-compulsive" has become part of the English lexicon, and is often used in an informal or caricatured manner to describe someone who is meticulous, perfectionistic, absorbed in a cause, or otherwise fixated on something or someone. Although these signs are often present in OCD, a person who exhibits them does not necessarily have OCD, and may instead have obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), an autism spectrum disorder or some other condition. The typical OCD sufferer performs tasks, or compulsions, to seek relief from obsession-related anxiety. Within and among individuals, the initial obsessions, or intrusive thoughts, can vary in their clarity and vividness. A relatively vague obsession could involve a general sense of disarray or tension, accompanied by a belief that life cannot proceed as normal while the imbalance remains. Among the more articulable obsessions one may have is a preoccupation with the idea of violently hurting others or oneself. A survey of healthy college students found that virtually all of them had these types of thoughts from time to time, Like these students, OCD sufferers generally do not enact or even enjoy these violent thoughts. On the contrary, they are pathologically disturbed by these ideas—and by the sense that they could inexplicably possess them. Other obsessions concern the possibility that someone or something other than oneself—such as God, the Devil, or disease—will harm either the sufferer or the people or things that the sufferer cares about. Some people dread entire concepts, fearing their materialization by causes that may seem implausible or indiscriminate to others. For example, a generalized fear of contamination might entail not only wariness of bodily secretions or excretions, but also apprehension toward household chemicals, radioactivity, newsprint, pets, or even soap.

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