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Roughly six years ago, the NBC primetime sitcom Scrubs featured Michael J. Fox as a visiting doctor. While his character was known to be one of the best physicians and surgeons in the field (yes, his character was both), he also dealt with a severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. For those who happened to catch the few episodes featuring the disturbed doctor, they received a front-row seat to the type of debilitating control this disorder can have on a person.

An anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder is characterized by thoughts the person cannot control and does not want, and behaviors that are repetitive and ritualized and the individual feels overwhelmingly compelled to perform them. Most individuals dealing with obsessive compulsive disorder understand that their thoughts and actions are irrational, and yet cannot resist them, nor break free of their power.

To understand obsessive compulsive disorder, it is important to understand compulsions and obsessions. Compulsions are behaviors or rituals that the individual feels driven to act out again and again, whether they make logical sense or not. Compulsions are often performed as an effort to make obsessions go away. The only problem is compulsions generally only make the obsession go away for a short period of time, until they come back stronger than before.

Obsessions are defined as involuntary thoughts believed to be uncontrollable. They include not only thoughts, but also images or impulses that occur over and over again in the mind of the individual. This individual does not want to have the ideas, thoughts or images and most of the time, they are disturbing or distracting. When obsessions combine with compulsions, it generally exacerbates the problem for the individual.

A person who is dealing with obsessive compulsive disorder will generally fall into one of five categories: hoarders, washers, doubters/sinners, counters/arrangers or checkers. To get a better understanding of the condition as a whole, let’s take a look at each category and its characteristics:

Hoarder – this individual fears the onset of something negative or bad if anything is thrown away. As a result, the individual will store or compulsively hoard things they don’t use and don’t need.

Washer – contamination is the main fear for this individual and the obsessive compulsive disorder usually brings on compulsions for cleaning or hand washing.

Doubters/Sinners – a constant fear of imperfection leading to punishment or something terrible happening leads this person to want perfection in everything.

Counters/Arrangers – order and symmetry are obsessions for these individuals. Superstitions may also exist surrounding certain colors, numbers or arrangements.

Checkers – the individual falling into this category is driven to repeatedly check things as they associate them with harm or danger and are not convinced they will keep either away.

For the individual dealing with obsessive compulsive disorder, life can be very frustrating as most of these individuals suffering want a different outlook, yet continue to struggle with the hand they are dealt. Therapy is often recommended for those struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder and for many – the struggle is a lifetime.