OCD was thought to be rare, but recent studies reflect that as much as two percent of the population may be affected. Males and females are equally affected and the onset is usually developed in teenage years. Most sufferers realize that their obsessions and compulsions are absurd and foolish, but still carry out the rituals. Many repulsed with the disorder conceal their acts during a workday or in the public eye. Of the many etiologies the biological theory has proven to be empirically correct in reference with dysfunction of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
Education is a key factor in treatment since there is no cure for obsessive compulsive disorder.
Families and self-help groups are a key essential ingredient for this ongoing anxiety disorder. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised. Davison, Gerald, and John Neale. Doctor, Ronald M., and Ada P. Kahn. The Encyclopedia of Phobias, Fears, and Anxieties.