Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, commonly referred to as OCD, is an anxiety disorder. Although the thoughts associated with this disorder are quite bizarre, they are not the focal point and do not make up the entire disorder. The essential features of an obsessive-compulsive person are recurrent obsessions, or thoughts, that create an awareness of alarm or a threat. Examples of these thoughts are such as "Someone can get sick from that band-aide if I don't pick it up", "If I touch that doorknob, I could get really sick", and "Since I was capable of thinking that terrible though, I might be capable of acting it out." People who suffer with this disorder typically engage in some avoidance or escape response to whatever it is that threatens them. Obsessions can take on the form a few different things. It can be a perceived threat of harm coming to oneself or others or it can take on the threat of harming someone's spiritual or metaphysical self, or perhaps even a deity. In approximately 80% of all cases, the obsessive-compulsive person performing these rituals are completely aware that the behavior they have taken on is not only unreasonable, but also irrational. Unfortunately, even though the person has these realizations, it can provide them no relief. Therefore, reassuring the person has no long-term effect.
             Many people question whether they may have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, as many of the examples seem to be quite common things. They are not unlike what most regular people do from day to day to a limited degree. What has to be understood is that the obsessive-compulsive person takes these things to the extreme. Some everyday OCD examples include: using a foot to flush a toilet, using a towel to open the bathroom door,
             throwing salt over the shoulder to receive good luck, or knocking on wood in order to rid oneself of a jinx. A "normal" person would not take th...