Do You Have Obsessive Compulsive Tendencies?

If you suspect that you may have OCD, this article will take a look at the personality traits most common to obsessive compulsive disorder sufferers.

When you think of a person with OCD, a picture of Jack Nicholson, in the movie "As Good As It Gets" may come to mind.  Perhaps this is because when many people think of OCD they think of a person that is obsessed with cleanliness, many times to ridiculous extremes such as washing your hands with a bar of soap once and then disposing of it.  A person that suffers from this form of OCD feels the need to clean and re-clean their bodies, their belongings and everything around them all of the time.   They view themselves as vulnerable to everything they come in contact with.  In other words, sickness and disease is lurking everywhere and if they don't wash it, they will get sick from it. 

Another facet of obsessive compulsive disorder is the need to check and recheck everything they do.  A person with this type of OCD trait has a very hard time getting even the simplest task done.  Some common examples might be washing and rewashing dishes; rechecking appliances multiple times after you have turned them off; locking your door and then getting the overwhelming sensation that you forgot to lock the door so you go back; and the list goes on.  A person with this checking mentality has a fear that they will forget to do something that could have disastrous consequences, thus they will be to blame. 

Signs Of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder They often admit that suicidal thoughts and thoughts of hurting others are often very real and a very scary reality. Sufferers become trapped in a world where they feel they have no escape and where the outside world thinks they are crazy. Most admit that the onset started in their teens, sometimes even as early as preschool. The truth of the matter is that all people with OCD are different, but they all battle the same enemy, obsessive thinking. No matter if you have the checking mentality, a cleanliness obsession, the hoarding mentality or a out of control neat freak, the reality is that you can drive yourself crazy just living your day to day life. About Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Yet another personality trait of OCD sufferers is the need to have everything organized and perfect, just the way they want it at all times.  Everything around them has a destined place and they spend much time organizing and reorganizing objects before completing any task.  A person with this character trait can get easily angered when things are in disarray. 

Thought obsession is another personality trait that some OCD sufferers deal with.  People that suffer from obsessive thoughts spend most of their time warding off scary thoughts and images from their minds.  They are scared of the world, other people and even themselves.  They often find themselves thinking about hurting others and in some cases, themselves as well.  People that suffer from this personality trait can drive themselves crazy because they are constantly counting, praying or chanting in their heads, in hopes of getting rid of the bad thoughts. 

Lastly, a personality trait that is sometimes overlooked when it comes to being associated with obsessive compulsive disorder is the hoarder mentality.  People with this tendency simply cannot stop collecting junk.  They cannot make themselves throw anything away, no matter how small and insignificant it is.  They often have stashes of papers, wrappers, and everything else under the sun stashed in all corners of their homes.   If you are familiar with what a pack rat is, hoarders take it to a whole new level.