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Get help treating this common anxiety disorder

	If you have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), you may have worrying thoughts or images that you can’t get out of your head and you may also feel the urge to do certain things repeatedly. Having OCD can make you feel embarrassed, frustrated and depressed, but ConsumerReportsHealth.org can help you find treatments to reduce the symptoms of OCD and feel better.
	Subscribe to ConsumerReportsHealth.org today and find out whether medications or therapy rate best for treating OCD.

Consumer Reports Health explains the best and most up-to-date expert research and evidence about treating OCD. Our clear and sound advice will help you and your doctor choose the best treatment options.

Key points about OCD

• Disturbing thoughts are called obsessions. Things you do over and over again are called compulsions.
• Some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder only get one of these problems, but it's common to get both.
• There’s often a link between the disturbing thoughts and the compulsive behavior. For example, someone who's worried about germs may wash their hands all the time.
• You may do compulsive things to try to control your anxiety, but compulsions can interfere with your work, your daily routines, your social life and your relationships.
• OCD usually starts when you’re a child, a teenager or a young adult. It’s more common for boys than girls.
• For adults, OCD is more common in women than in men.
• You are more likely to get OCD if there are other people with OCD in your family, if you have had drinking problems, if you use cocaine, or if you have depression or anxiety, or both.
• Treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) include talk therapy and antidepressant drugs.

Many people worry needlessly from time to time and feel they have to do something more than once. But for people with OCD, these obsessions and compulsions happen so often that they can take over their lives and cause a lot of stress. Your doctor can offer helpful treatments or refer you to someone with experience in treating OCD.

Our concise condition report and treatment ratings table will help you and your doctor decide which single treatment or combined treatments for OCD are best for you. As a Consumer Reports Health subscriber, we'll also help you sort through the best research and the most effective treatments for over 150 conditions and illnesses that may affect you and your family.