What is a common example of a compulsion in obsessive‑compulsive disorder?

Common Examples of Compulsions in OCD

The most common compulsions in obsessive-compulsive disorder are hand washing/cleaning, checking behaviors, ordering/arranging items, and counting or repeating actions. 1

Definition and Core Features

Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that an individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rigid rules 1. These can manifest as:

Physical/Behavioral Compulsions:

• Hand washing and showering (often in response to contamination fears)
• Checking (locks, appliances, harm prevention)
• Ordering, straightening, or arranging objects
• Repeating specific actions

Mental Compulsions:

• Praying ritually
• Counting silently
• Repeating words in one's mind
• Mental rituals to neutralize intrusive thoughts 1

Common Symptom Patterns

The evidence identifies specific obsession-compulsion pairings that occur globally 1:

• Contamination concerns → Washing/cleaning compulsions (most frequently performed to decrease distress and anxiety) 2
• Harm-related obsessions → Checking compulsions (often driven by belief that something bad will happen if checking doesn't occur) 2
• Symmetry concerns → Ordering, counting, or repeating (frequently performed to achieve a "just right" feeling) 1, 2
• Intrusive aggressive/sexual/religious thoughts → Mental rituals (performed automatically more than for other reasons) 2

Important Clinical Nuances

Most compulsions serve multiple functions simultaneously - research shows 85.3% of compulsions are performed for more than one reason, with an average of 2.94 functions per compulsion 2. The most frequent functions are:

1. Performed automatically (habitual)
2. To decrease distress or anxiety
3. To achieve a "just right" feeling
4. To prevent perceived catastrophic outcomes

Common Pitfall to Avoid:

Don't assume all compulsions are performed solely to reduce anxiety. Hoarding compulsions, for instance, often involve a perceived need for collected objects unrelated to anxiety reduction, while ordering/symmetry compulsions are frequently driven by incompleteness rather than fear 2.

Diagnostic Threshold

For clinical significance, these compulsions must be time-consuming (>1 hour per day) or cause clinically significant distress or functional impairment 1. The behaviors are either not realistically connected to what they're designed to prevent, or are clearly excessive 1.