An individual repeats these actions, perhaps feeling momentary relief, but without feeling satisfaction or a sense of completion. People with OCD feel they must perform these compulsive rituals or something bad will happen. Most people at one time or another experience obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviors. Obsessive-compulsive disorder occurs when an individual experiences obsessions and compulsions for more than an hour each day, in a way that interferes with his or her life. It strikes people of all social and ethnic groups and both males and females.
Symptoms typically begin during the teenage years or young adulthood.
A large body of scientific evidence suggests that OCD results from a chemical imbalance in the brain. For years, mental health professionals incorrectly assumed OCD resulted from pad parenting or personality defects. This theory has been disproven over the last 20 years. But the thoughts and the behavior continue. People whose brains are injured sometimes develop OCD, which suggests it is a physical condition.