pakkooireet

Pakkooireet, often translated as obsessions and compulsions, are the core symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive, and distressing thoughts, images, or urges that repeatedly enter a person's mind. These can be about a wide range of topics, such as contamination, harm to oneself or others, aggression, or excessive orderliness. Individuals with OCD often recognize that these obsessions are a product of their own mind, but they find them difficult to control or dismiss.

Compulsions, on the other hand, are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that a person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession. These actions are intended to reduce the anxiety or distress caused by the obsession or to prevent a feared event from occurring. Common compulsions include excessive washing, checking, counting, ordering, or repeating words or phrases. While the person may feel a temporary sense of relief after performing a compulsion, this relief is usually short-lived, and the cycle of obsessions and compulsions tends to repeat. The compulsions are often excessive and not realistically connected to the feared outcome. The presence of both obsessions and compulsions, or the significant time spent on either, is necessary for a diagnosis of OCD.