Common Fears & OCD Subtypes
OCD subtypes can help people to find community with others who share similar experiences, and they can assist therapists in designing targeted treatment plans, but they don't tell the whole story. If you can't find your subtype, that doesn't mean you don't have OCD—everyone's experience is unique, and many people's OCD symptoms don't fit neatly into any specific theme.
Health and Contamination OCD
Health Concern/Contamination OCD is a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) where a person experiences obsessive thoughts around fears of becoming contaminated, contaminating others, or contracting and spreading a disease. These obsessive thoughts drive people to engage in various compulsions aimed at alleviating their anxieties about contamination (e.g., showering for hours or until they feel clean).
It’s normal to experience a bit of an “ick” about less-than-clean environments, but people with mysophobia—aka germophobia, sometimes spelled
By Fjolla Arifi
Reviewed by April Kilduff, MA, LCPC
Picture this: You’re enjoying a nice brunch with friends, but you realize you need to excuse yourself for a moment—”nature calls.” It happens to everyone.
By Taneia Surles
Reviewed by April Kilduff, MA, LCPC
Everyone has a bit of health anxiety from time to time—like when they’re riding a crowded bus and everyone around them is coughing. But if you regularly
By Jenna Demmer
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
There’s nothing like worrying about your health to keep you up at night. You feel an abdominal cramp and fear your appendix is bursting. You hear about a
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder categorized by excessive intrusive thoughts (obsessions) that lead to repetitive — and
Reviewed by Dr. Keara Valentine
Contamination OCD is a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) where a person experiences obsessive thoughts around fears of becoming contaminated,
When a friend, family or loved one is struggling with contamination OCD, it can be difficult to know how to help them. Of course you want to support them,
Contamination OCD is a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) where a person experiences obsessive thoughts around fears of becoming contaminated,
My first experience with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) came at the age of 7 years old, with severe intrusive thoughts. As I got older, my OCD
By Rebecca Horsfall
In OCD, contamination fears can manifest around food and eating, making it difficult to differentiate from a diagnosable eating disorder.
Reviewed by Taylor Newendorp
OCD fear of pulmonary embolism includes intrusive thoughts such as "What if I get a Pulmonary Embolism?" and/or images of suffering one.
Reviewed by Taylor Newendorp
People with fear of magical thinking OCD think they have the power to prevent something bad from happening by performing a certain behaviors.
Fear of Ebola OCD involves fears that develop into obsessions about contracting or spreading the Ebola virus.
Reviewed by Patrick Carey
Panic Attack OCD involves intrusive, recurring, and distressing thoughts related to the fear of experiencing a panic attack.
Reviewed by Taylor Newendorp
Fear of diabetes can be a specific OCD theme for individuals suffering from health concerns related to developing diabetes.
By Rosa Pacheco Uscanga, LPC, NCC
Reviewed by Taylor Newendorp
Constant concerns or fears of getting cancer that are affecting your everyday life may be a sign that you have fear of cancer OCD.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Excessive fears and concerns about contracting or spreading COVID can be a sign of COVID related Contamination OCD.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Fear of having a stroke can be a presentation of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Health Subtype, where the sufferer’s compulsions are driven by a fear of the specific medical condition or symptoms of strokes.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Fear of going blind, Blindness OCD, is when someone has constant fears an illness will lead them to becoming blind or visually impaired.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD