Symptoms of OCD are:

• Obsessions—unwanted, repetitive, and intrusive ideas, impulses, or images
• Compulsions—repetitive behaviors or mental acts usually performed to reduce the anxiety or distress associated with obsessions

If you have OCD, you know that your thoughts and behaviors are nonsensical, and you would like to avoid or stop them.

Common obsessions include:

• Persistent fears that harm may come to yourself or a loved one
• Unreasonable concern about becoming contaminated
• Unacceptable religious, violent, or sexual thoughts
• Excessive need to do things perfectly

Common compulsions include:

• Excessive checking of door locks, stoves, water faucets, light switches, etc
• Repeatedly making lists, counting, arranging, or aligning things
• Collecting and hoarding useless objects
• Repeating routine actions a certain number of times until it feels just right
• Unnecessary re-reading and re-writing
• Mentally repeating phrases
• Repeated hand washing