OCD is a mental health condition where a person experiences obsessions (unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors or mental actions done to relieve anxiety or prevent something bad from happening).
OCD doesn’t look the same for everyone. In fact, OCD symptoms can be grouped into several subtypes. Understanding these can help reduce stigma and make it easier to diagnose. Here are some common subtypes:
1. Contamination OCD
An example: “I’ll get sick or make others sick.”
Common compulsions: Excessive handwashing, cleaning, or avoiding touching certain objects or people.
This is the type most people are familiar with. But it’s not just about germs — sometimes the “contamination” can be emotional (like feeling “dirty” after being near something upsetting or “bad”).
2. Checking OCD
The fear: “Something terrible will happen if I don’t check.”
Common compulsions: Repeatedly checking locks, appliances, light switches, or even one’s own memory (“Did I hit someone with my car?”).
People with checking OCD aren’t being forgetful — they’re battling intense doubt and anxiety that they might cause harm or make a mistake.
3. Just Right (or perfectionism) OCD
The fear: “Things have to feel ‘just right’.”
Common compulsions: Arranging, aligning, or counting until things look or feel balanced or even. Repeating things until they feel “just right”. Rewriting or redoing work. Avoiding decisions or moving forward due to fear of imperfection.
This isn’t always about perfectionism. It’s often about discomfort — an inner tension that only eases when things feel precisely right.
4. Intrusive Thoughts OCD
The fear: “Why am I having these horrible thoughts?”
Common obsessions: Unwanted, taboo, or violent thoughts — such as harming someone, inappropriate sexual thoughts, or blasphemous religious ideas.
People with this form (sometimes called “Pure O,” short for “purely obsessional”) rarely act on their thoughts. The distress comes from the fear that having the thought means something bad about them — which it doesn’t. The mind is just “stuck” on the thought. Often someone will do a mental compulsion as opposed to something that can be observed.
5. Hoarding OCD
The fear: “If I throw this away, something bad will happen.”
Common compulsions: Holding onto items with little or no value, often because of emotional attachment, fear of losing something important, or will cause harm
While hoarding can exist on its own, some people with OCD experience it as part of their compulsive rituals and fears.
6. Religious or Moral Scrupulosity
The fear: “What if I offend God or do something immoral?”
Common compulsions: Excessive praying, confessing, or seeking reassurance that one hasn’t sinned or done wrong.
Scrupulosity can make faith or morality feel like a source of anxiety rather than comfort.
7. Relationship OCD (ROCD)
The fear: “What if I don’t really love my partner?” or “What if they’re not right for me?”
Common compulsions: Repeatedly analyzing feelings, seeking reassurance, or comparing the relationship to others.
These obsessions aren’t about normal doubts — they’re about relentless uncertainty that never seems to resolve.
8. Health or “Somatic” OCD
The fear: “Something is wrong with my body.”
Common compulsions: Constantly checking bodily sensations, researching symptoms, or seeking medical reassurance.
Unlike hypochondria, this isn’t just worry — it’s the intrusive, looping nature of the fear that defines it as OCD.
9. Magical Thinking OCD
The fear: “If I don’t say this phrase, something bad will happen to someone.”
Common compulsions: Counting or repeating a phrase to prevent harm, superstitious behaviors
Magical thinking OCD believes that one is responsible for an unrelated outcome and engages in behaviors like mantras or counting to avoid causing someone else harm.
10. Responsibility OCD
The fear: “What if I make a choice that causes harm to someone else.”
Common compulsions: Overchecking, replaying conversations over and over, reviewing memory.
Unlike being careful, there is a real fear that your actions or decisions will cause harm to another person or upset another person.
This list is comprehensive but not exhaustive. All subtypes of OCD are fueled by fear and doubt and compulsions, behavior or mental bring, temporary relief.
No matter what a person is experiencing, OCD is treatable. If you are seeking help or wonder if what you are experiencing is OCD, I offer a 15 minute free consultation.
