The National Institute of Mental Health calls OCD a "common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder" that often interferes with ...

While the exact causes of OCD are complex and multifaceted, research shows that trauma can act as a significant trigger, ...

Other possible causes include: With obsessive-compulsive disorder, you have repeated unwanted thoughts and/or perform repeated actions that you feel you can't control. They cause you distress ...

OCD has two central components. Obsessions are recurrent, intrusive thoughts, urges, or images that lead to distress and anxiety. Compulsions—repetitive behaviors or mental acts performed in ...

The condition is a mental health disorder, "where a person gets caught in a vicious cycle of obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors," explains Guerra. The thoughts and fears such people ...