The Center for OCD and Anxiety

Common obsessions: fear or aversion to food variety due to texture sensitivity, fear of catastrophic/traumatic outcomes (e.g. choking), or difficulty identifying hunger cues

Common compulsions: avoiding or severely restricting specific foods, only eating specific foods

Common obsessions: fear of being unattractive or of having a physical deformity

Common compulsions: excessive weighing, mirror checking, ritualized eating, checking of specific body parts

Common obsessions: urges to pull hair (Trichotillomania), pick skin (Excoriation), or other repeated behaviors that cause physical damage and have been difficult to stop (nail biting, cheek biting, etc.)

Common compulsions: acting on urges to pull or pick, checking for areas to pull or pick, various rituals related to before, during, and after pulling and picking

Common obsessions: fear of germs, bodily fluids, chemicals, or other “contaminants”

Common compulsions: excessive washing, cleaning, reassurance-seeking and avoiding

Common obsessions: excessive and impairing fear/worry associated with everyday issues such as work, finance, relationships and responsibilities, fear of becoming anxious

Common compulsions: mental review, reassurance seeking, over-preparing, perfectionism, avoiding situations that may produce anxiety

Common obsessions: fear of committing violence against self or others, fear of “snapping” and causing harm, intrusive violent thoughts

Common compulsions: avoidance of triggering media, mental review/checking of violent thoughts, reassurance, avoidance of triggering environments

Common obsessions: fear of not being able to stop attending to breathing, blinking, swallowing, thinking, or other semi-voluntary behaviors

Common compulsions: checking for awareness, excessive distracting, reassurance seeking about symptoms or about what is normal

Common obsessions: fear of having or catching illnesses

Common compulsions: checking body for symptoms, excessive googling/researching symptoms, excessive reassurance seeking or avoidance of medical professionals/procedures

Common obsessions: fear of making a mistake, causing a tragedy

Common compulsions: excessive checking of light switches, stove, appliances

Common obsessions: fear of not being able to tolerate specific feelings without certain conditions

Common compulsions: repeating routine behaviors, arranging/ordering, checking/repeating writing and reading, homework, or work tasks

Common obsessions: fear of being morally imperfect, fear of being dishonest, fear of committing, having committed, or being accused of an immoral or disloyal act

Common compulsions: mental review of memories or perceived bad acts, excessive attention to issues of honesty or morality, reassurance-seeking about moral issues

Common obsessions: concern with perfectionism, psychological rigidity, needing things to be done "just right", perseveration on organization and control

Common compulsions: engaging in efforts to control people, environments, and situations causing impairment to productivity and relationships

Common obsessions: presence of panic attacks and fear of having panic attacks

Common compulsions: avoiding situations that could trigger attacks, avoiding environments that do not have easy escapes

Common obsessions: fear of being sexually attracted to children or fear of being a sexual predator, intrusive thoughts about children

Common compulsions: checking for arousal in triggering situations, avoidance of triggering situations, excessive mental review of behavior around children

Common obsessions: focused fear of specific triggers, such as throwing up (emetophobia), small spaces (claustrophobia), open spaces (agoraphobia), specific animals or environments

Common compulsions: avoiding triggers directly or indirectly, various rituals designed to feel certain that triggers will not occur

Common obsessions: fear of being in the wrong or imperfect relationship, fear of not being in love with partner or choosing the wrong partner

Common compulsions: checking for “love feelings,” avoiding triggering situations, excessive mental review of qualities of relationship

Common obsessions: fear of religious blasphemy, sin, or of exercising faith inadequately, unwanted intrusive thoughts of a religious nature

Common compulsions: compulsive prayer, excessive review of religious concepts, avoidance of triggering situations, excessive performance of religious rituals

Common obsessions: fear of changing sexual orientation or of being in denial of sexual orientation, intrusive sexual thoughts related to orientation

Common compulsions: checking for arousal in triggering situations, avoidance of triggering situations, excessive mental review of sexual themes

Common obsessions: fear of being evaluated negatively by others, fear of public speaking, fear of being humiliated in public, fear of not being able to connect with others socially

Common compulsions: avoidance of social situations, mental review of social interactions, excessive comparison of self to others