But if the rituals are inconvenient and take a while to perform, then you probably try to avoid the rituals or to complete them as soon as possible. You seek out others to help with your rituals. Compulsions can be so distressing that you enlist the help of those close to you. You may ask family members to help count for you, or friends to check behind you, or your boss to please read over a letter before you seal it up. These seven features should give you a better sense of your symptoms.
Symptoms tend to begin in the teen years, or in early adulthood.
About one third of people with OCD showed the first signs of a problem in childhood. Men and women are equally likely to suffer from OCD, although men tend to show symptoms at an earlier age. Cleaning compulsions are more common in women, while men are more likely to be checkers. No one can say for certain what causes obsessive-compulsive disorder. At one time researchers speculated that OCD resulted from family attitudes or childhood experiences, including harsh discipline by demanding parents.