What are compulsions?

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common mental health disorder that can be incredibly distressing and debilitating. People who suffer from OCD experience intrusive, unwanted thoughts known as obsessions, as well as repetitive behaviours known as compulsions. Though obsessions and compulsions are both repetitive and can both be mental experiences, they can be differentiated if people take the time to think carefully about their symptoms. Obsessions can be generally viewed as the repetitive experience (ruminating catastrophic fears and intrusive experiences) that causes a person to feel anxiety or to otherwise suffer, and compulsions generally act to relieve or cope with that emotional suffering.

Compulsions are a hallmark of OCD, and they can take many different forms. Common compulsions include washing, checking, counting, ordering, touching, and other behaviours that people feel compelled to do in order to alleviate the distress caused by their obsessions. However, compulsions can be mental acts as well as physical acts. For example, someone might have a mental compulsion to recite a certain phrase over and over, reassure themselves, perform a mental checking ritual like recounting their movements or steps, blocking thoughts, or compulsive prayer. While these behaviours might be difficult to understand to an outsider, they often provide a sense of relief to the person with OCD in the short term. Though compulsions can help people manage their distress in the moment, unfortunately compulsive rituals can quickly spiral out of control to overwhelm or debilitate a person’s life. While they might start off as a way to cope, they can become so frequent and time-consuming that they cause distress themselves. People with OCD may feel like they can’t stop the compulsion no matter how hard they try.

The good news is that there are ways to manage compulsions. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), with incorporated Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) techniques, is a talking-therapy that has been shown to be effective in treating OCD. In ERP, people learn to understand the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. With the help of a trained therapist, they can learn to recognise and manage their compulsions in a healthy way.

If you or someone you know is struggling with OCD, it’s important to seek professional help. Compulsions can be difficult to manage on their own, and a mental health professional can provide the support and guidance needed to reduce the severity of the symptoms. With the right treatment, people with OCD can find relief from their compulsions and live more fulfilling lives.