10 Signs Of Anxiety Disorder

Compulsive Behaviors

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (or OCD) is a disorder very closely linked with anxiety. With OCD, a person’s obsessive and intrusive thoughts rise to the level where they dictate behavior. This behavior can be mental or physical, with the most stereotypical being activities such as hand-washing or meticulously straightening items over and over. When it reaches the level of full OCD, a person ends up developing patterns of behaviors known as rituals, and these rituals tend to form a restrictive framework for that person’s life. People with OCD become anxious if they are not able to complete their rituals, and the result of a disruption can often be a kind of mental paralysis or panic.