Types of OCD: 15 common themes and 3 related conditions

Most people picture OCD as handwashing or tidy shelves. In practice it takes many forms, and much of it happens silently in the mind. If one of the descriptions below sounds like your experience, you are not alone, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy can help to manage your symptoms.

How many types are there? There is no official list. Clinicians group OCD into recurring themes because it helps people recognize their symptoms. Themes overlap, and it is common for the topic of your obsessions to shift over time. What stays constant is the cycle: an unwanted thought or fear, intense distress, then a compulsion to get relief.