"My friends joke a lot and tell me 'Youre so OCD..' At least, I thought they were joking. Now I'm not so sure. How do I find out?"

Fine Print

So, you think you might have OCD and you want to find out for sure. Well, for obvious legal reasons, I have to start this off with a disclaimer. A clinical diagnosis can't be made just by reading an article. Read through this article and think of it as a screening test. If you want to find out for sure, you need to see a qualified therapist, psychologist, or counselor. (You can even find one on this site.)

Do I have OCD?

Now that the fine print's out of the way, how do you tell if you have OCD?

What is OCD?

OCD, or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, is a type of anxiety disorder. OCD is all about Obsessions and Compulsions, thus the name.

An obsession is something you think about a lot and are preoccupied with. You think about the obsession more than it merits. Merriam-Webster says that obsession is "a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling." What does that mean? Well, you can have an obsession and not eat, sleep, and drink it. You can have an obsession and not think about the obsession 24x7. If you like cookies and think about cookies once in a while, that's okay. However, if you think about cookies for a half hour every time you eat anything, you might have an obsession with cookies.

A compulsion is "an irresistible persistent impulse to perform an act." So, a compulsion is an "out-of-your-control behavior." Some compulsions are good. For instance, if you put your hand on a hot burner you have a compulsion to move your hand. If you keep your hand on a hot burner, you'll be hurt. Some compulsions are not so good. If there's a plate of cookies in front of you and you keep grabbing and eating cookies and can't stop yourself, that's a not-so-good compulsion.

So, the first step to determining if you have OCD or not is to figure out if you have an obsession and a compulsion.

What's your obsession?

Do you have an obsession? Remember, an obsession is something you think about more often than it deserves. What is that obsession?

"When I was in college, I played Tetris (a video game popular in the early '90s) a lot. I thought about Tetris at inappropriate times. I'd tune out lectures in favor of dancing squares in my head. I'd close my eyes at night and the shapes would fall. I rotated the shapes and moved the shapes and dropped the shapes. My brain seemed to generate random shapes and my mental Tetris game would continue for a long time. I was obsessed with Tetris. Fortunately for me, my preoccupation with Tetris eventually dissipated."—Amanda, a 39-year-old mother of two

What do you think about more than is reasonable? Common obsessions include, but are definitely not limited to, germs, environmental contaminants like radiation and toxic waste, scarcity, cleanliness, order, clothes, memory, being a victim of violence, responsibility, embarrassing yourself, numbers, colors, luck, body functions, and sounds.

Obsessions can be scary. You might feel like you've lost control of your brain.

"I first learned about germs in grammar school like everyone else. I was immediately intrigued by microorganisms and loved looking through microscopes and reading about germs. This interest lasted for several years and as I got older, I started reading about diseases and how diseases effect the body. Salmonella scared me and ebola terrified me. I knew I was being silly. After all, salmonella doesn't kill healthy young adults and I lived in the United States, not Africa, so coming into contact with ebola was unlikely. Nevertheless, I became an avid hand washer. Then I became more than an avid hand washer. I washed my hands over thirty times a day, and I'm not talking a quick spreading of soap and water rinsing. I'm talking about four or more minutes of vigorous hand scrubbing that left my hands sore. I kept clean tissues in my coat pocket and when I'd open a public door, I'd put a clean tissue in my hand, open the door, and throw the tissue out."—Jeff, a 40-year-old accountant

What's your obsession? If you don't have one, you probably don't have OCD. Remember that OCD is made of obsessions and compulsions. If you have an obsession, think about whether or not you have a compulsion.

Do you have a compulsion around your obsession?

Compulsions sometimes develop as a way to control obsessions.

So, if you have an obsession with germs, you might be compelled to wash your hands for long periods of time, many times a day. You might be unwilling to touch public door knobs or put your hands on a shopping cart handle.

Now, washing your hands is a good thing. It promotes hygiene, limits diseases from spreading, and feels clean. Is washing your hands a compulsion? After you eat lunch, can you skip washing your hands? Or, if you skip washing your hands will you think about germs and washing your hands constantly until you do?

Do you have an obsession and a compulsion?

If you have both an obsession and a compulsion around it, then you might want to look at the psychological definition of OCD and screen yourself. If all of the below resonate with you, consider seeing a therapist and getting an official diagnosis (or be free of a diagnosis).

Thoughts

Do you think about something more than is merited?

Rituals

Do you have rituals that you have to perform to protect you from your thoughts? For instance, if you obsess about germs, do you have to wash your hands for a certain amount of time with a specific soap? If you're afraid of fire, do you have to check to make sure your oven is off more than three times before you can leave the house? These rituals might not be logically related to your obsession, or the rituals might go overboard.

Relief, not pleasure

Do your rituals bring you a modicum of peace or relief, but not pleasure? That is, performing your ritual might give you a sigh of relief, but it doesn't put a smile on your face. OCD patients perform rituals for some relief, but they don't have any fun doing those rituals.

Time

Do you spend more than an hour thinking about your obsession or doing rituals to protect you from your obsessions? Do your rituals and compulsions get in the way of your life?

Again with the falling shapes and door knobs

Remember the example of the Tetris player? While Amanda's Tetris playing constituted an preoccupation, Amanda didn't have OCD. She had fun playing Tetris. She was able to distract herself and do other things besides playing Tetris. Finally, after a while, constant game playing just disappeared.

While Amanda didn't have true OCD, Jeff the hand washer did. What's the difference? Jeff's problem didn't go away after he learned more. Jeff's compulsion physically hurt him and interfered with his life. Jeff's obsession and compulsion took a lot more than an hour out of his life each day. Jeff knew he was overreacting to germs and Jeff knew his hand washing was excessive. Jeff met the criteria for OCD.

What now?

If you you still think you might have OCD, consider talking with a therapist, psychologist, counselor or even your family doctor. A professional can objectively evaluate your situation and let you know. If you think you probably don't have OCD but you do have some obsessions or compulsions that bug you and you'd like to reduce or eliminate them, read on and educate yourself. You might still consider seeking the help of a trained professional to learn ideas and techniques to help.