Mary felt like a prisoner to her fear of burning her house down.<\/p>\n

Despite having never left the stove on, Mary was convinced that if she left the house without checking the stove three times, her house would catch fire. If she left the house and forgot to check, or couldn\u2019t remember if she had, she would turn the car around and come back.
\n
\nOne day, Mary had had enough. She just stopped going back, telling herself, \u201cWell, I guess the house is going to burn down then. I\u2019m not turning back.\u201d<\/p>\n

At first she was terrified, convinced her house wouldn\u2019t survive, but after a couple of times of confronting her fear, she now feels free of it.<\/p>\n

Is Mary quirky or does she have OCD?
\nUsed in everything from creating eccentric TV characters to being the punch line on late
\nnight TV talk shows, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is often oversimplified and misused. But for those who suffer from OCD it\u2019s no joke.<\/p>\n

What Is It?
\n<\/strong>Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder where people experience obsessions and\/or compulsions.<\/p>\n

Obsessions <\/strong>are unwanted, persistent thoughts, such as about germs or intruders, or
\nimages of doing\u2014or actual impulses to\u00a0do\u2014something destructive.<\/p>\n

Compulsions <\/strong>are deliberate behaviors (washing, checking, organizing, hoarding) or mental rituals (praying, counting, repetitive statements) typically performed to reduce the anxiety triggered by the obsessions.<\/p>\n

For instance, people with an obsessive fear of uncleanliness and infection may wash their hands repeatedly or refuse to shake hands or touch things that they believe are contaminated.\u201d
\nPeople who have an obsessive desire for exactness and need everything to be \u201cjust so\u201d and \u201cin its place\u201d may be compelled to organize food cans by size and with the labels facing in the same direction.<\/p>\n

How Does OCD Impact People\u2019s Lives?
\n<\/strong>Left unchecked, OCD can rule a person\u2019s life by taking up significant amounts of time and
\nenergy and leaving sufferers feeling anxious and exhausted. This can interfere with one\u2019s ability at work, impeding professional development and advancement. It can also prevent some people from forming intimate relationships.<\/p>\n

So how do you know if your quirk rises to the level of OCD?<\/p>\n

The Thought\/Behavior May Be OCD If It:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
• Is constant, recurring and intrusive.<\/li>\n
• Interferes with a person\u2019s ability to function in daily life.<\/li>\n
• Is out of control.<\/li>\n
• Is compulsive or highly ritualistic.<\/li>\n
• Causes the person to feel anxious and nervous most of
  \nthe time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  What Can You Do?
  \n<\/strong>If you or someone you know has OCD there are ways to
  \nhelp.<\/p>\n

  \n
  • Insight.<\/strong> Educating oneself about the symptoms and treatment is a critical first
    \nstep.<\/li>\n
  • Redirect attention.<\/strong> When obsessive thoughts or compulsive urges surface, try
    \ndiverting your attention to other, healthier thoughts or activities. Do something you
    \nenjoy, such as walking, listening to music or visiting with a friend.<\/li>\n
  • Self-care.<\/strong> Eat healthfully, exercise, get enough sleep, and avoid alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. (The latter two are powerful stimulants.)<\/li>\n
  • Find healthy outlets.<\/strong> Focus your energies on hobbies, exercise and recreational activities.\u00a0<\/li>\n
  • Structure your time. <\/strong>Daily time management helps you stay organized and can help reduce anxiety and stress.\u00a0<\/li>\n
  • Therapy. <\/strong>A therapist can help you learn to respond to (or even curtail) obsessive thoughts without resorting to compulsive behavior.<\/li>\n
  • Support groups. <\/strong>Interacting with others who can relate can decrease feelings of isolation.<\/li>\n
  • Medication. This may be warranted for severe
    \nsymptoms.
    \nIt\u2019s not unusual for people to repeat behaviors, such
    \nas checking to see if they tuned off the stove or not, or to
    \nhave thoughts that are upsetting or out of character. It
    \ndoesn\u2019t mean a person has OCD.
    \nBut when these thoughts and behaviors impede
    \ndaily functioning by becoming frequent, intrusive, time
    \nconsuming, debilitating and out of control it may be
    \ntime to consult a doctor or mental health provider. [<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Mary felt like a prisoner to her fear of burning her house down. Despite having never left the stove on, Mary was convinced that if she left the house without checking the stove three times, her house would catch fire. If she left the house and forgot to check, or couldn\u2019t remember if she had, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.drilonatobin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.drilonatobin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.drilonatobin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drilonatobin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drilonatobin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.drilonatobin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":189,"href":"http:\/\/www.drilonatobin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions\/189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.drilonatobin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drilonatobin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drilonatobin.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}