What is OCD?

  OCD is a group of neurological disorders with obsessive-compulsive symptoms (mainly including obsessive-compulsive ideas and compulsive behavior) as the main clinical manifestation. OCD is not uncommon in clinical practice. A survey in the United States showed that the prevalence of OCD is about 1%, and in 1982, a survey was conducted in 12 regions in China, and the results showed that the prevalence of OCD was 0.3 per 1,000. In fact, this figure is much lower than the actual prevalence rate. Combined with clinical practice, it is estimated that there are about 5-10 million OCD in China, with a prevalence rate of about 5‰-10‰. 80% of OCD develops before the age of 25, with more men than women.  Before we talk about OCD, let’s talk about obsessive-compulsive phenomena: almost all people probably have experienced obsessive-compulsive phenomena: for example, sometimes a song keeps playing in your head, or when you go out, you always worry whether you forgot to lock the door of your house? Is the gas left on? You may even go home to check! Children and teenagers can also experience obsessive-compulsive phenomena, for example, when walking on the road, children have to take 4 steps and jump 1 step before they can continue walking. It can be said that everyone can have obsessive-compulsive phenomena, but if they are generally mild, short-lived, and do not cause severe anxiety and other emotional disorders, they are a normal manifestation.  OCD is a difficult and important point in clinical work. If OCD is not diagnosed and treated in a timely and correct manner, it can seriously affect the patient’s normal life and work, and bring great pain and burden to both the patient and his family.