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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Are there different types of OCD?

    Related Topics
    Anxiety Mental Health Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
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  • Mental Health Association NSW

    Offers information and education advice about protecting mental health, mutual support and advocacy services. View Profile

    Yes there are different types of OCD. These include:

    Contamination obsessions with washing/cleaning compulsions:     focuses on feelings of discomfort associated with contamination and wash or clean excessively to reduce these feelings of distress.

    Harm obsessions with checking compulsions: involves intense thoughts related to possible harm to yourself or others and use checking rituals to relieve your distress

    Obsessions without visible compulsions or so-called “pure obsessions”: relates to unwanted obsessions surrounding sexual, religious or aggressive themes. May often use mental rituals such as reciting particular words, counting in your head or praying to relieve the anxiety.

    Hoarding: Hoarding involves the collection of items that are judged to be of limited value by others such as old magazines, clothes, receipts, junk mail, notes or containers. Hoarding is often accompanied by obsessional fears of losing items or possessions which may be needed one day and excessive emotional attachment to objects.  

    Symmetry obsessions with ordering, arranging and counting compulsions: there is a strong need to arrange and rearrange objects until they are “just right”.

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