Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder.  A person who has OCD has intrusive and unwanted thoughts and repeatedly performs tasks to get rid of the thoughts. OCD usually starts in childhood or early adulthood.

Causes

While the exact cause of OCD is unknown, in some cases genetics may be involved. Other research has found that some parts of the brain work differently in people with OCD. This could be caused by a chemical imbalance or an overactive portion of the brain responsible for repetitive behavior.

Symptoms

People with OCD have obsessions, compulsions, or both. Obsessions and compulsions are unpleasant, and are usually accompanied by high levels of anxiety. Obsessions are ideas, thoughts, and images that occur over and over. In severe cases, people with OCD may spend hours on compulsive behaviors. Their symptoms prevent them from living their lives fully and from having normal relationships with others. The most common obsessions and compulsions of people with OCD include checking repeatedly, which usually results from a fear of harm to self or others; excessive fear of contamination and germs; obsessively arranging objects in a specific order; repeating a name or phrase or touching something a certain number of times to reduce anxiety; hoarding objects with usually no apparent value;  and performing a series of steps in a certain order or doing them over and over until perfect, again to reduce anxiety or protect the person from some unfounded fear.

Treatment

Your doctor may refer you to a psychiatrist who may prescribe a combination of medication and therapy to help your symptoms.. Drugs that are approved to treat obsessive compulsive disorder include fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft), all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that affect the level of serotonin in the brain.