Posted by Joe Bloe on March 21, 2007, at 12:43:35
In reply to Re: How Do I Know If I Have OCD? » TheMeanReds, posted by Phillipa on March 21, 2007, at 12:21:41
I may be wrong, but I think there is an obsessive component and an impulsive component.
I have the obsessive component: repeating thoughts over in my head like clockwork, until I am overcome with anxiety and even panic. This is the ideation aspect, that for me, doesn't cross the threshold into compulsive activity (at least in any apparent way).
The compulsion might be explained as a practice or physical action undertaken to remove or surmount the obsessive idea. The individual comes to believe that a particular action, although it may be unrelated to the original obsessive ideation, must be undertaken repeatedly to ward off or overcome the original thought.
In this regard, the compulsion may also become an obsession and has the capability to spin out of control, devouring a person's life experience.
This is how I've understood it from growing up around a relative with debilitating OCD.
poster:Joe Bloe
thread:742798
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070320/msgs/742832.html