Common Fears & OCD Subtypes
OCD subtypes can help people to find community with others who share similar experiences, and they can assist therapists in designing targeted treatment plans, but they don't tell the whole story. If you can't find your subtype, that doesn't mean you don't have OCD—everyone's experience is unique, and many people's OCD symptoms don't fit neatly into any specific theme.
Health and Contamination OCD
Health Concern/Contamination OCD is a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) where a person experiences obsessive thoughts around fears of becoming contaminated, contaminating others, or contracting and spreading a disease. These obsessive thoughts drive people to engage in various compulsions aimed at alleviating their anxieties about contamination (e.g., showering for hours or until they feel clean).
Fear of allergic reactions in OCD is characterized by unwanted and intrusive thoughts about the possibility of having an allergic reaction.
Reviewed by Taylor Newendorp
In OCD, contamination fears can manifest around food and eating, making it difficult to differentiate from a diagnosable eating disorder.
Reviewed by Taylor Newendorp
OCD fear of pulmonary embolism includes intrusive thoughts such as "What if I get a Pulmonary Embolism?" and/or images of suffering one.
Reviewed by Taylor Newendorp
People with fear of magical thinking OCD think they have the power to prevent something bad from happening by performing a certain behaviors.
Fear of Ebola OCD involves fears that develop into obsessions about contracting or spreading the Ebola virus.
Reviewed by Patrick Carey
Panic Attack OCD involves intrusive, recurring, and distressing thoughts related to the fear of experiencing a panic attack.
Reviewed by Taylor Newendorp
Fear of diabetes can be a specific OCD theme for individuals suffering from health concerns related to developing diabetes.
By Rosa Pacheco Uscanga, LPC, NCC
Reviewed by Taylor Newendorp
Constant concerns or fears of getting cancer that are affecting your everyday life may be a sign that you have fear of cancer OCD.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Excessive fears and concerns about contracting or spreading COVID can be a sign of COVID related Contamination OCD.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Fear of having a stroke can be a presentation of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Health Subtype, where the sufferer’s compulsions are driven by a fear of the specific medical condition or symptoms of strokes.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD