Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is diagnosed based on criteria set forth in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5).

Here are the key diagnostic criteria for OCD according to the DSM-5:

Criterion A. Presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both:

**Obsessions** are defined by:

1. Recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and unwanted, and that in most individuals cause marked anxiety or distress.

2. The individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, urges, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action (i.e., by performing a compulsion).

**Compulsions** are defined by:

1. Repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.

2. The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing anxiety or distress, or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent, or are clearly excessive.

Criterion B.

The obsessions or compulsions are time-consuming (e.g., take more than 1 hour per day) or cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Criterion C.

The obsessive-compulsive symptoms are not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or another medical condition.

Criterion D.

The disturbance is not better explained by the symptoms of another mental disorder.

In addition to these criteria, the DSM-5 also specifies various specifiers for OCD, such as the presence of good or fair insight, poor insight, or absent insight/delusional beliefs, and whether the individual has a tic-related subtype.

Reference: American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.