Common Types Of OCD

Are there different types of OCD?

Although all forms of OCD have symptoms in common (see previous page for more), the way these symptoms present themselves in daily life differs a lot from person to person. As we’ll see, the content of a person’s obsessions isn’t ultimately the important part. But it’s certainly what feels important in the moment.

Someone’s subtype is really just the particular way their OCD affects them. What does the mind focus on– in this case, little kids or the trash? –and what thoughts result from this focus? Subtypes are relatively stable over time, though new symptoms can appear and old ones might fade.

Clinicians call a condition like OCD heterogeneous because it varies so much from one person to the next. But there are a few common “clusters” of symptoms that researchers have noticed:

1. Contamination Obsessions

2. Harm Obsessions with Checking Compulsions
(Fear-of-harm thoughts, Taboo thoughts)

3. Symmetry Obsessions

There’s a lot of discussion about what these symptom clusters might be, which explains why you may not see some familiar ones here. There’s even more debate about whether or not there are more specific categories called subtypes. These are groups of obsessions and compulsions that pop up regularly in people with OCD.

Many clinicians try not to talk about subtypes because there isn’t really any research backing them. And because they’re not perfect categories it’s generally not worth spending too much time trying to figure out which subtype you fit into. Still, for many people with OCD, the immediate recognition of their own experience in a list of subtypes is a powerful comfort at the start of the treatment process.

Imagine that you’ve thought of yourself as uniquely “messed up” for a long time. Suddenly, you see a list of symptoms that match yours exactly. And, recognizing yourself in the subtype you’re reading about, you no longer feel alone in your troubles. You don’t feel hopeless anymore, because other people have apparently faced similar struggles.

Even after this intense relief has passed and the hard work of treatment has begun, it’s helpful to know that other people are dealing with similar types of obsessions and compulsions. The important part, as a person trying to get better, is to never feel alone in it. Listing out subtypes is an imperfect way of doing that, because it often leads people to think of these subtypes as distinct conditions rather than common manifestations of the same condition.

Lastly, subtypes are here to stay in the global community of people dealing with OCD. People have heard about subtypes and want to know more about the ways this condition can manifest itself. So let’s go through some of them now.