A common question that people tend to have is whether or not there are different types of OCD. Everyone has their own specific symptoms of OCD which vary from person to person with no sufferer’s symptoms exactly like another. Despite this variability, are common subtypes of OCD, which describe the particular form and content that a person’s OCD assumes.
In considering subtypes of OCD, it is important to remember that an individual may suffer from one primary subtype or may experience elements of many different subtypes. Additionally, for some people their symptoms may be fairly stable over time but for others new symptoms can emerge somewhat suddenly or old fears and obsessions can return with little understanding of what has prompted their resurgence.
OCD symptoms generally fall into loosely defined categories, although there are unique features that can impact people differently even within the same subtype. Below are general categories of OCD symptoms and how they may present, although individuals with OCD may find that their symptoms are not perfectly captured within a general category. It is important to remember that OCD is best characterized by its cycle of obsession/anxiety/compulsion/relief/obsession, rather than by the particular form or content area that it assumes.
Types Of OCD
- Checking OCD
- Contamination OCD
- Counting OCD
- Existential / Philosophical OCD
- Food / Exercise OCD
- Fortune Telling OCD