Almost everyone has unpleasant or unwanted thoughts at some point, such as thinking that you’ve forgotten to lock the door, or sudden or unwelcome mental images. But if you have persistent, unpleasant thoughts that dominate your thinking and stop you from leading your life, you may have developed obsessions. Compulsions are things that you feel compelled to do and which often start as a way of reducing the anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts. Together, these are sometimes known as obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD.
Clearly, feeling anxious and distressed about hygiene or harm makes a lot of sense during the COVID-19 pandemic. It doesn’t mean that you have OCD. However, if these feelings have been a problem for a while or they’re affecting your life after the pandemic is over, make sure that you talk to your GP. You might find some of the resources on this website helpful too.
Almost everyone has unpleasant or unwanted thoughts at some point, such as thinking that you’ve forgotten to lock the door, or sudden or unwelcome mental images. But if you have persistent, unpleasant thoughts that dominate your thinking and stop you from leading your life, you may have developed obsessions. Compulsions are things that you feel compelled to do and which often start as a way of reducing the anxiety caused by obsessive thoughts. Together, these are sometimes known as obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD.
Clearly, feeling anxious and distressed about hygiene or harm makes a lot of sense during the COVID-19 pandemic. It doesn’t mean that you have OCD. However, if these feelings have been a problem for a while or they’re affecting your life after the pandemic is over, make sure that you talk to your GP. You might find some of the resources on this website helpful too.