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Obsessions

In this article will be explained what obsessions are.
Pedestrian crossing
© University Medical Center Groningen

In addition to compulsions, people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can also have obsessions. Obsessions are about something your are afraid or ashamed of, which cannot be stopped: you have to think about it all the time. Obsessions can be about terrible things that could happen, for instance that you might kill someone, or about something you feel you should not think about because it is wrong.

Many children go through a period in which they don’t allow themselves to step on the white bars of a crosswalk or always do other things. It is also very common that people like to sit on the same place at a table or do things at a specific order when they get out of bed. Maybe you belong to these people as well. As long as you could do it in another if you had to without feeling very anxious or stressed, this is not an OCD. People with an OCD cannot stop or change their behaviors, not even when their compulsions cause problems, for instance because they are always late.

Via this link you can find stories from young people that suffer from compulsions. There is also a movie clip about someone with a compulsion.

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© University Medical Center Groningen
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Young People and Mental Health

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