Stuck in a Loop: What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
- Mar 15
- 7 min read
Have you ever felt like your brain is "stuck" on a thought you didn’t ask for? Maybe you feel the need to check the door ten times, or you can’t stop worrying about germs, even when you know it doesn’t make sense. Understanding Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is important because it usually starts in your teen years (Mayo Clinic, 2023). It isn’t just about liking things organized—it’s a real medical cycle that can make you feel frustrated and alone. In this blog, we will explain what OCD is, how it affects your life, and its symptoms, risk factors, what happens in the brain, and the available treatments.
What is OCD?
OCD is a brain condition where you get caught in "mental loops." It involves unwanted, scary thoughts called obsessions and repetitive actions called compulsions. You feel a strong urge to do these rituals to stop your anxiety. These loops can be very time-consuming and make it hard to focus on school or your friends (National Institute of Mental Health, 2023; Nemours KidsHealth, 2026). OCD happens when unwanted thoughts (obsessions) lead to repetitive behaviors (compulsions) that you feel driven to do to ease your stress (Mayo Clinic, 2023).
How does OCD affect your life?
Living with OCD is not only about cleanliness or keeping things in order. It is a mental health disorder in which intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviours can overwhelm daily routines. According to The Soho Center (2019), these cycles can significantly disrupt quality of life because they feel impossible to control, even when a person recognizes that the thoughts are irrational. As a result, individuals with OCD often spend a significant amount of time managing intrusive thoughts and performing compulsive behaviors to relieve anxiety.
OCD affects your daily life by making it hard to focus on school or your goals. You might deal with "perfectionism," whereby you’re so afraid of making mistakes that you can’t even finish your work. It can also cause trouble for your friends or family because you too often feel the need to manage everything you touch just to protect yourself. If left by themselves, these rituals can be tiring, even resulting in physical ailments because of skin irritation caused by washing too much (The Soho Center, 2019). The most important thing to remember is that trying to stop thoughts by yourself is tough and getting help from a professional is the best way to start feeling like yourself again.
Symptoms
OCD is living through obsessions and compulsions. An obsession is a persistent and unwanted thought, image, or urge that enters the mind and triggers distress, while a compulsion is recurrent behavior or mental act(s) carried out to provide relief brought on by the distress of obsessions (Mental Health Foundation, 2023). People usually have both obsessions and compulsions; however, you can have only one to be categorized with OCD. Compulsions follow obsessions because teens perform the compulsions in a response to stop the obsessions.
Obsessions
They happen very frequently, are unwanted and often cause anxiety.
The person tries to ignore them, or stop them, sometimes by performing compulsions.
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Compulsions
Can include repetitive behaviours like hand washing, ordering things, or completing checklists.
Can include mental acts like praying, counting or repeating words.
All of these sound like normal things that everyone does. Everyone cleans their room, washes their hands after eating things, does the same thing every day (going to school), etc. For a teen with OCD, these things would be time consuming and cause distress to your day-to-day life. You cannot get OCD from food you eat, amount of sleep you get, or from medications. Doctors will want to check that the person is not doing these things because of another psychological disorder or medical issue.
Risk Factors
There are lots of reasons why someone has or is likely to develop an OCD. Factors such as age and gender, genetics, presence of other mental health conditions, life events, stress, and learning can all lead to developing OCD (Holmes, 2022).
Age and gender: Teen males are more prone to develop OCD prior to the start of puberty, while females are prone later in their teenage life.
● Genetics: If someone in your household has OCD, the odds of you getting it increase due to their influence.
● Presence of other mental health conditions: If you suffer from a mental illness such as anxiety or depression, your chances of being diagnosed with OCD are more common.
● Life events: Traumatic life events that occur in childhood such as death, divorce, or assault can lead to teens developing an OCD early on.
● Stress: If you already have a diagnosis for OCD, stress makes the symptoms and affects you worse. Stress alone does not cause OCD.
● Learning: OCD symptoms can be learned through the environment which you live in. If you watch a parent or sibling with OCD daily, you are more likely to pick up on their actions.
Neural Basis: What's Happening in the Brain?
OCD is connected to how the brain controls habits, motivation, and decision-making. In teens with OCD, certain brain circuits stay overactive, making some thoughts and behaviours very hard to turn off. Research shows that the orbitofrontal cortex, the part of the brain that helps decide when something is important or when to stop an action, works differently in teens with OCD. Because of this, the brain keeps sending signals that something is “wrong,” even when everything is actually okay. Then the basal ganglia gets overwhelmed and prompts the person to perform the compulsion, to stop the obsessive thoughts. This helps explain why teens with OCD may know a thought doesn’t make sense but still feel stuck repeating behaviours. The brain gets caught in a loop, which makes OCD frustrating and difficult to control (Perkes et al., 2022).
Treatment Options
If you are a teenager living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), there are effective treatments that can help you manage your thoughts and reduce anxiety. Mental health professionals often recommend therapy first and sometimes medication if needed.
● Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): CBT helps teenagers understand how their thoughts affect their feelings and behaviours. A therapist teaches skills to challenge obsessive thoughts and respond in healthier ways. Research shows that CBT is one of the most effective treatments for OCD (Abramowitz et al., 2009).
● Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP): ERP is a specific type of CBT commonly used to treat OCD. A therapist gradually helps the teenager face situations that trigger anxiety while teaching them not to perform compulsive behaviours. Over time, this can reduce the intensity of obsessive thoughts and urges (Franklin & Foa, 2011).
● Medication (SSRIs): Doctors may prescribe medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to help reduce obsessive thoughts and anxiety. Medication is sometimes used together with therapy for better results (National Library of Medicine, 2025).
● Family Support and Family-Based Therapy: Family involvement can help teenagers manage OCD. Parents and caregivers learn how to support treatment and avoid reinforcing compulsive behaviours.
Conclusion
OCD is more than liking things neat or organized. It is a very real mental health condition that can affect how teens feel, behave, and function in their day-to-day life. OCD creates a cycle of repetitive, intrusive thoughts that can make school, everyday tasks, and relationships more difficult. Understanding the symptoms and risk factors can show you that OCD is not an unbreakable habit or an obsession, but rather a complex mental health condition. The great news is that OCD is treatable with therapies such as CBT and ERP as well as with medication or even support from people you trust. If you are struggling with OCD, it is very important to remember that help is always available, and you do not have to face it alone. Learning OCD is the first step in understanding the condition, reducing stigma, and breaking away from compulsive behaviors and obsessions
Call-to-Action
If you or someone you know is struggling with OCD, it is important to not ignore the signs and symptoms. We want you to break your silence and find support. Researching is the first step in understanding what OCD is and how it can affect you and/or people you know.
Here are some websites to help you get started:
· Mind.org
You can also visit the additional links on the reference page listed below to get more information about OCD. The Mental Health Hotline is another great resource. Consider calling this number (866) 903-3787 for additional support.
References
Abramowitz, J. S., Taylor, S., & McKay, D. (2009). Obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Lancet, 374(9688), 491–499. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60240-3
Cleveland Clinic. (2025, October 29). ERP therapy. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/erp-therapy
Franklin, M. E., & Foa, E. B. (2011). Treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 7, 229–243. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032210-104533
Holmes, S. (2022, November 3). Who is at risk of developing OCD?. The Banyans. https://thebanyans.com.au/ocd-risk-factors/
Mayo Clinic. (2023). Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20354432
Mayo Clinic. (2023, December 21). Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Diagnosis & treatment. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354438
Mental Health Foundation. (2026). Obsessive-compulsive disorder. https://mentalhealthfoundation.org/health-conditions/anxiety-disorders/obsessive-compulsive/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=14405879264&gbraid=0AAAAABNkekjt8jQMUQ56bqXYZUcXZO7eK&gclid=CjwKCAiAqKbMBhBmEiwAZ3UboKD7ocCgclQCdXwELITrTTL--nVxjvo3Q-CM6C6p3MYr0gV3G_EPHhoCW30QAvD_BwE
National Library of Medicine. (2025, November 5). Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Learn more – treatment options for obsessive compulsive disorder. InformedHealth.org [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279561/
National Institute of Mental Health. (2023). Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd#hts-learnmore
Nemours KidsHealth. (2026). Obsessive-compulsive disorder factsheet (for schools). https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/ocd-factsheet.html?ref=search
NHS. (2023, April 4). Treatment - obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/treatment/
Patent Issued for Treatment Of Social Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder And Panic Disorder Using Botulinum Toxin (USPTO 10,828,348). (2020). Mental Health Weekly Digest, 972. https://link-gale-com.libaccess.senecapolytechnic.ca/apps/doc/A642480649/SCIC?u=king56371&sid=bookmark-SCIC&xid=8da5e316
Pathlight Mood & Anxiety Center. (n.d.). What is OCD like? symptoms, causes, health risks & treatment options. https://www.pathlightbh.com/conditions/ocd
Perkes, I. E., Morris, R. W., Griffiths, K. R., Quail, S., Waters, F., O’Brien, M., Hazell, P. L., & Balleine, B. W. (2022). The motivational determinants of human action, their neural bases and functional impact in adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science, 3(4), 1062–1072. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsgos.2022.11.004
The Soho Center for Mental Health Counseling. (2019, March 1). Understanding OCD and how it can affect your daily life. https://www.thesohocenter.com/post/understanding-ocd-and-how-it-can-affect-your-daily-life
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