Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is defined as a disorder that includes two core symptoms- obsessions and compulsions. According to the Census for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obsessions are defined by:

• Thoughts, impulses, or images that occur over and over again. These thoughts, impulses or images are unwanted. They cause a lot of anxiety and stress.
• The person who has these thoughts, impulses or images tries to ignore them or tries to make them go away.

Compulsions are defined as:

• Repeated behaviors or thoughts over and over again or according to certain rules that must be followed exactly in order to make an obsession go away.
• The person feels that the purpose of the behaviors or thoughts is to prevent or reduce distress or prevent some feared event or situation.

The following are facts and statistics on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder:

• 1.2% of U.S. adults had OCD in the past year.
• OCD was higher for females (1.8%) than males (0.5%).
• Among adults with OCD, approximately one half (50.6%) had serious impairment
• 34.8% of adults with OCD had moderate impairment
• 14.6% had mild impairment.
• OCD affects 2.2 million adults
• The average onset is 19 with 25% of cases occurring by age 14
• One-third of affected adults first experience symptoms in childhood
•  17% of autistic people may specifically have OCD
• Because of similar characteristics, it is often overlooked
• It affects people of all races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds
• OCD is one of the top 20 causes of illness-related disability worldwide for individuals between 15 and 44 years of age
• 1 in 40 adults are affected.
• 1 in 100 children are affected
• Other conditions may co-exist with OCD including anxiety, bipolar, ADHD, autism spectrum, Tourette syndrome, and major depressive disorder.
• Worldwide, OCD is approximately 2% of the general population
• OCD ranks 10th place among all diseases
•  1 in every 200 children has the disorder 60 to 70% of OCD children improve significantly with therapy.
• Many people still hide their OCD behaviors.

Beyond OCD.org
Healthy Place.org
National Institute of Mental Health