Obsession

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is classified as an anxiety disorder. Other anxiety disorders are panic attacks, agoraphobia (the fear of public places), phobias (fear of specific objects or situations), and certain stress disorders. This illness becomes increasingly more difficult to the patient and family, because it tends to consume more and more of the individual's time and energy. While a person who is suffering from an obsession is aware of how irrational or senseless the fear is, he or she is over-whelmed by the need to perform ritualistic behavior in order to relieve the anxiety connected with the obsession.

People who suffer from OCD may have obsessions but no compulsions to act on them. The obsessive thoughts, nevertheless, consume a great deal of time and energy. Someone who is very religious and has sexual obsessions that violate the person's personal beliefs may become extremely distressed when the thoughts become all-consuming.