Counseling & Psychological Services
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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessions are recurrent unwelcomed thoughts. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors that serve to reduce anxiety, worry, or obsessive thinking. The behaviors may or may not be logically related to the obsessive thought. For example, one person may have frequent unwelcomed worry about germs and may develop compulsive hand washing which eases their anxiety. Another person may have frequent unwelcomed worry about death and develop seemingly unrelated rituals like tapping their fingers in a certain way in an effort to decrease their worry. Compulsions can develop into rituals that take significant time out of a person’s day. Obsessive compulsive disorder can include obsessions and/or compulsions.

Signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder:

  • Recurrent unwanted thoughts (obsessions) or behaviors (compulsions) that are significant enough to be time consuming or otherwise interfere with your daily functioning.
  • Obsessions tend focus around:
    • Fears of germs or contamination
    • Chronic doubt
    • Fears about something being wrong with one’s body/health
    • Need for symmetry
    • Recurrent and unwanted aggressive thoughts or images
    • Recurrent and unwanted sexual thoughts or images
  • Compulsions most often entail:
    • Checking behaviors
    • Washing behaviors
    • Counting
    • Needing to ask or confess
    • Arranging things to be symmetrical or precisely located
    • Hoarding things

Things You Can Do:

  • OCD is an anxiety disorder. Take steps to decrease your overall level of anxiety and your symptoms of OCD will likely also decrease. For example, meditation, time management, exercise, quality time with friends and family, and relaxation may be helpful. Quality sleep on a fixed schedule can also significantly decrease anxiety symptoms.
  • Giving into compulsive behaviors often alleviates anxiety in the short run but reinforces it in the long run. Resisting compulsions can cause short term increased stress but longer term healing. Seek qualified assistance in deciding how to best manage your symptoms.
  • Seek help from a therapist or physician. OCD symptoms can be alleviated through therapy and/or medication.
  • Learn more at:

Help is Available

It may benefit you to talk to someone at the Counseling Center. Stop by during our Initial Consultation hours Monday-Friday 8:30-11:00 a.m. & 1:00-4:00 p.m., or call (828) 262-3180. We can talk with you about your concerns. You may also learn more by checking our other links, or completing an online screening.

Crisis Services

If you or another ASU student is experiencing suicidal and/or homicidal thoughts or experiencing trauma in regard to a sexual assault, you may contact us after hours by calling the Campus Police Department at (828) 262-2150 and asking to speak with the counselor on-call. The counselor on-call will be notified and will call you back.