Common obsessions involve doubts, fears, orderliness, aggression, and sexual images. A compulsion is a feeling that you have to do something. Compulsions are physical or mental acts that you perform over and over. Common compulsions include counting, washing, arranging and checking things again and again. When these tendencies are exaggerated, it is called an obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Males tend to get the disorder in childhood and females in their twenties.
A specific counseling treatment called cognitive-behavior therapy is helpful. Several medicines and therapy can also help control symptoms. A less severe problem is called obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. A personality disorder begins during the teenage years. It is a pattern of feelings and behavior that does not meet what is expected in a person's culture.