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What is obsessive compulsive disorder, how can it be treated and which celebrities suffer from the condition?

ONE per cent of the UK population suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, making it the fourth most common mental illness in the world.

Here's everything you need to know about OCD, which affects roughly 740,000 people in the UK.

One per cent of the UK population are affected by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
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One per cent of the UK population are affected by Obsessive Compulsive DisorderCredit: Getty Images

What is OCD?

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a common mental health condition in which a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours.

The first main part of OCD is obsession and these cause the sufferer to feel unwelcome thoughts, images, urges, worries or doubts and repeatedly appear in your mind.

OCD is a common mental health condition in which sufferers have obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours
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OCD is a common mental health condition in which sufferers have obsessive thoughts and compulsive behavioursCredit: Getty Images

These thoughts can make you feel anxious and to combat these, a sufferer will start fulfilling repetitive activities.

These can range from checking the door is definitely locked, to repeating phrases in your head or continually checking how your body feels.

What are the symptoms?

Obsessions: These are persistent thoughts, pictures, urges and doubts that appear over and over.

Sometimes you'll feel like you can't share them with others or that's something not right with you so you have to hide your feelings.

While you don't choose to have these obsessions, you might feel upset that you are 'capable' thinking such things.

One symptom of OCD is obsessions during which you experience persistent thoughts, pictures, urges and doubts
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One symptom of OCD is obsessions during which you experience persistent thoughts, pictures, urges and doubtsCredit: Getty Images

Compulsions: Sufferers of OCD often find themselves repeating activities again and again with the aim to try and handle the distress of their obsessive thoughts.

These repetitive actions are often simulated until the anxiety goes away and things feel calmer and while you might not understand why you're carrying out the compulsion, you're afraid not to.

Another is compulsions often sufferers repeat actions, like washing their hands over and over, to help deal with the anxiety they're experiencing
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Another is compulsions often sufferers repeat actions, like washing their hands over and over, to help deal with the anxiety they're experiencingCredit: Getty Images

Pure O: This stands for 'purely obsessional' and the phrase is often used to describe a specific type of OCD where they experience distressing thoughts.

That's not to say they don't also suffer from compulsion but they tend to not struggle with external signs. If you suffer from Pure O you may not be aware that you're suffering with mental compulsions.

While Pure O sufferers tend not to struggle with external compulsions but they experience mental compulsions like checking how they feel and their bodily sensations
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While Pure O sufferers tend not to struggle with external compulsions but they experience mental compulsions like checking how they feel and their bodily sensationsCredit: Getty Images

Here are some examples of internal compulsions:

- checking how you feel

- checking bodily sensations

- check how you feel about a thought

- repeating phrases or numbers in your head

How can it be treated?

The most common way to treat OCD is with  (CBT) however some people are offered medication.

Cognitive behavioural therapy is a treatment which focuses on talking about your thoughts, beliefs and how your attitudes affect your behaviour.

The most common treatment for OCD is cognitive behavioural therapy, which often proves to be effective
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The most common treatment for OCD is cognitive behavioural therapy, which often proves to be effectiveCredit: Getty Images

While CBT can be scary, there is a lot of evidence to prove that it is effective for treating OCD, alongside the therapy, your doctor might also offer you, antidepressants, tranquillisers or beta-blockers.

Which celebrities suffer from OCD?

The disorder can affect men, women and children regardless of their age, race, religion and nationality.

In the UK the current estimate is that 1.2 per cent of the population suffer from OCD, which equated to 12 out of every 1000 people - this works out to be approximately 741,504 people, according to ocd.uk.

Take Me Out: The Gossip host Mark Wright spoke out about living with OCD on World Mental Health Day.

While Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood, actress Cameron Diaz and footballer David Beckham have all spoken about the condition in the past.

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