Symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder

Typical actions that someone with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) may do include:

•  Having an overwhelming urge to wash the hands hundreds of times a day
• Checking on something (switching off elements on the stove for example)
• Avoiding certain things (like stepping on a crack in the footpath)
• Hoarding things in case they are needed in the future, or perhaps knowing that these items are available when they are required somehow makes you feel more at ease.

People who suffer from OCD are generally aware that what they are doing is irrational, yet they have an overwhelming compulsion to do it anyway 'just in case'.