Understanding OCD: a plain-English guide

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, is one of those conditions almost everyone has heard of and few people understand well. It gets used as a shorthand for tidiness, which does the people who actually live with it a disservice. Here’s a plain-English guide to what it really is.

What is OCD?

OCD is a chronic mental health condition. It’s characterised by unwanted, recurring thoughts, called obsessions, and repetitive behaviours, called compulsions. The two feed each other: an obsession creates distress, and a compulsion is performed to try to relieve that distress.

What are obsessions?

Obsessions are intrusive and persistent thoughts, images or urges that cause anxiety or distress. They tend to arrive uninvited, and they’re hard to switch off, however unwanted or illogical they feel to the person having them.

What are compulsions?

Compulsions are repetitive behaviours or mental acts, performed to try to reduce the anxiety that obsessions cause. They’re not habits or preferences, and they’re not really a choice in the way tidying a desk is a choice. They’re a response to distress.

What forms can OCD take?

OCD isn’t one single pattern. Common types include checking, intrusive thoughts, hoarding, contamination, and a need for symmetry and order. Someone might check a locked door over and over before leaving the house. Someone else might feel unable to touch a surface without washing straight after. Someone with a strong need for symmetry and order might feel real distress until objects are lined up exactly right, and someone with hoarding tendencies might find it agonising to part with items other people would throw away without a second thought. The theme differs from person to person; the underlying cycle of obsession and compulsion is the same.

What causes OCD?

There’s rarely a single cause. Genetic predisposition, brain structure and function, environmental factors and stressful life events can all play a part.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms can include a fear of germs or contamination, doubts and a need to check things repeatedly, an intense need for order, and aggressive or disturbing intrusive thoughts. That last one catches a lot of people out — having a disturbing thought is not the same as wanting to act on it.

How is OCD diagnosed, and what impact can it have?

OCD can interfere with relationships, work, education and quality of life more broadly. It can eat hours out of a day that could otherwise be spent on ordinary things. Diagnosis involves a psychological evaluation, a medical history, and an assessment against DSM-5 criteria. None of that needs to happen in a single appointment — getting a diagnosis is usually the start of finding the right treatment, not a hurdle to clear before anyone will listen.

What treatment options are there?

Treatment options include cognitive behavioural therapy, exposure and response prevention, medication, and support groups. With the right treatment and support, people living with OCD can manage their symptoms and lead fulfilling lives.

Where can you turn for support?

Your GP is the right place to start. If you need urgent help, NHS 111 can advise, and Samaritans are there on 116 123 (free to call, any time).

If face-to-face support alongside treatment would help, Devon Mental Health Alliance runs a drop-in at Four Greens Community Trust in Whitleigh on Mondays, 1.30pm to 4.30pm. It’s a non-clinical space — you don’t need a referral or a diagnosis, you can simply turn up.

How can we help?

OCD support at Kintota isn’t about a diagnosis on a form — it’s about what day-to-day life looks like, and what would make it easier. If you’d like to talk about support, our client journey explains how a first conversation with us works. It’s also worth a look at what’s on in Plymouth, where you’ll find groups and activities that can sit alongside any clinical treatment.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you’re concerned about OCD or any other mental health condition, please speak to your GP.