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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common mental disorder that is characterized by the presence of obsessions (intrusive, distressing, and repetitive thoughts, images, or impulses) and compulsions (behaviors or thoughts that are aimed at reducing the distress of an obsession). Common obsessions in OCD include: intrusive thoughts of harming someone, contamination fears, and needing things to be “just so.” Common compulsions in OCD include: repetitively washing, counting, hoarding useless objects, and ritualized prayers.
Scrupulosity is a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder. People suffering with this disorder worry that they have sinned or done something immoral, even when they have not. They may have intrusive thoughts (example: “Did I repent right?”), mental images that they find disturbing (example: images of immoral acts with religious figures), and/or fears that they may lose control of their impulses and do something sinful or harmful (example: yelling out a cuss word in church). They may wonder if they are truly saved or if they are in danger of judgment by God. As a result, these individuals tend to repeatedly confess their sins and/or seek reassurance from others.
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