American election predictions

Diagnosis of OCD

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) criteria

Diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder is clinical, based on the presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both.

Obsessions are defined by both of the following:

Recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images that are experienced, at some time during the disturbance, as intrusive and unwanted, and that in most individuals cause marked anxiety or distress.

The individual attempts to ignore or suppress such thoughts, urges, or images, or to neutralize them with some other thought or action (ie, by performing a compulsion).

Compulsions are defined by both of the following:

Repetitive behaviors (eg, hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (eg, praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly.

The behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing anxiety or distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts either are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent, or are clearly excessive.

The obsessions or compulsions must be time-consuming (eg, > 1 hour a day) or cause clinically significant distress or impairment of functioning. In addition, they must not be attributable to the physiologic effects of a substance (eg, medication, illicit drug) or another medical condition.