How Do I Know If I Have OCD?

By Alex Groberman, Sun, May 22, 2011

While there is no one specific, standard examination that will tell you if you or someone you know is struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) definitively, there are several testing options that can be utilized.

Generally speaking, a diagnosis for OCD usually requires a face-to-face interview between the potential sufferer and a mental health specialist. This is necessary because as of now, despite what some studies have shown, there is no conclusive way to simply conduct a medical examination and denote whether or not someone has OCD. There is no genetic marker, no red flag in the blood test, nothing of the sort to indicate whether or not someone is more prone towards OCD or is actually suffering from the disorder.

A face-to-face with a specialist is also key to ensure that the OCD symptoms aren’t simply a manifestation of something else, or a different disorder entirely.

Everything from depression to head injuries to natural personality quirks can present some of the symptoms commonly associated with OCD, and it is up to the tending mental health physician to determine whether or not the indicators in fact point to a case of the disorder.

Still, the key symptom that usually causes initial self-diagnosis before anything else is realizing that the sufferer is experiencing some sort of obsessions and compulsions, which in turn lead to rituals. These obsessions and compulsions are generally completely undesired and unintentional, and the sufferer finds him or herself powerless to stop them.

Anyone who finds themselves powerless to increasingly prevalent bouts of compulsions and obsessions should contact a mental health specialist and get themselves checked out immediately.

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