OCD involves obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are intrusive thoughts, images, doubts or urges that enter your mind and cause distress. The content can vary greatly from person to person.

Compulsions are the things you feel driven to do in response. Some are easy to see, such as checking or washing, while others happen inside your head, such as analysing, reviewing, trying to work something out or seeking reassurance.

In this lesson, I explain how these two parts of OCD fit together and why recognising both is an important first step in understanding your own OCD cycle.