Obsessive-compulsive disorder: symptoms, causes and which doctor to see

For obsessive-compulsive disorder you can first see: Psychiatry or Psychologist. If you are not sure, a family doctor (general practitioner) can assess you first and refer you to the right specialist.

Common symptoms: thoughts you cannot get out of your head, such as contamination, causing harm or doing something wrong; frequent hand washing or cleaning; checking doors, the cooker or locks over and over; counting, ordering or a need for symmetry; spending more than an hour a day on these behaviours. Symptoms vary from person to person; a doctor’s examination is needed for a diagnosis.

The most common causes: differences in how certain brain circuits work; inherited tendency; stressful life events; rarely in children, after an infection. Only a doctor’s examination can determine the exact cause.

OCD clearly improves with cognitive behavioural therapy based on exposure and response prevention and, when needed, medicine.

See Psychiatry. A clinical psychologist can also help with cognitive behavioural therapy.

Briefly checking things or liking order is normal. In OCD, the thoughts are unwanted, cause serious distress and take up hours a day.

In most people symptoms reduce a great deal with treatment; in some, mild symptoms can return during stressful periods.

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, call 112 without delay: “Are there thoughts of harming yourself or someone else?” “Is it affecting you so much that you cannot eat or leave the house?” “Is there confusion, fainting or difficulty waking up?” “Is there facial drooping, slurred speech or sudden weakness in an arm or leg?” “Are you struggling to breathe even at rest?”

See a doctor: the obsessions are affecting your daily tasks, work or relationships; these thoughts are causing you intense distress.