A compulsion is an unreasonable need to behave in a certain way. An obsession is an idea or thought that lodges in the mind and cannot be forgotten, Obsessional mental activity often leads to compulsive behavior.At one time or another most people have minor obsessions and compulsions. On a certain day, for example, you cannot get a popular tune out of your head. You are obsessed , with it. Or you may irrationally feel compelled to walk to work every day on the same side of the street. Obsessions and compulsive actions become disorders only when they are so intense and persistent that they interfere with normal life.

What are the Symptoms?

Obsessions take hold gradually. You may become interested in something such as politics, religion, or hygiene. Next you find your­self brooding about it. Eventually you can think of little else. At that point, the obsession may begin to affect your behavior. If, for instance, you have become obsessed with the idea that housebreaking is rampant, you may feel a compulsion to test your front door again after you have already locked it securely. This is a comparatively harmless compulsion. Some people, however, might carry it beyond the limits of normality by getting out of bed repeatedly during the night in order to test the door over and over again.

Compulsive disorders often center on irrational fears. Some women, for example, are so obsessed with fear of pregnancy that they will not use a bathtub previously used by a man. Other people become obsessed with fear of “germs,” and wash their hands endlessly. Such a person may realize his or her behavior is irrational, but attempts to resist an overwhelming compulsion cause intense anxiety, which can be relieved only by giving in to the compulsion.

Medical opinion is divided on the effectiveness of drugs for serious obsessional or compulsive disorders. Antidepressant and tranquilizer medications, however, help to reduce depression and anxiety, which are symptoms that commonly accompany these disorders.

What should be done?

If you feel that any of your ideas or actions are slipping out of control, for example, if you cannot bring yourself to go to work because your customary route has been closed, consult your physician, who will probably refer you to a specialist for psychotherapy. Treatment for mild cases of this disorder is usually based on an effort to reassure you while trying gradually to discover what lies behind your compulsive behavior. Compulsions can sometimes be cured by a type of therapy that is known as “desensitization”.