What is OCD?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is relatively easy to understand, given the name. The obsession part is characterized by intrusive, repetitive, and unwanted thoughts. Compulsion comes in with actions or behaviors you engage in to try to control your obsessive thoughts, according to Psychology Today. These actions can give sufferers momentary relief, but the anxious thoughts usually return. Typically, the condition kicks in when sufferers are around 19 years of age. However, a third of adults first show signs in childhood; 25 percent of cases are diagnosed by age 14. This condition can be difficult to pick up in kids—parents may assume that the symptoms are a normal part of growing up, or that the behavior is part of a child’s personality. Both genders are equally likely to develop OCD.