14 Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that can disrupt your life, and involves repetitive thoughts that won’t subside. It frequently starts in childhood and can last a person’s entire life – there’s an estimated prevalence of around 2-percent of the U.S. population that has the disorder.

OCD is not an easy mental disorder to understand, and therefore it can be difficult for medical professionals to diagnose. You may think you have it, but having a comforting routine or being a perfectionist is different than having constant intrusive thoughts that guide your actions. However, if you suspect you or a loved one is suffering from OCD (whether mild or severe), here are some symptoms to look for…

1. Hoarding

This is a behavioral trait of many people that have OCD, according to HelpGuide.org. It describes hoarding as, “collecting and keeping things with little or no use or value,” and while hoarding on its own doesn’t necessarily point to this particular mental disorder, having another symptom such as depression, compulsive shopping or tic disorders makes OCD more likely.

Hoarding in itself can be a health hazard as items pile up, due to becoming a tripping or fire risk, and can even pose significant challenges to emergency personnel who would need to access a person in a home.