The exact reason why we experience intrusive thoughts isn't fully understood. These unwanted, disturbing thoughts are called intrusive thoughts, and they can be very unsettling. But here's the thing, ...

Beyond simple quirks and preferences, OCD creates a debilitating cycle of unwanted thoughts and ritualistic behaviors that can hijack everyday life. This mental health condition affects approximately ...

Obsessions and compulsions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) vary between people and may focus on one or more themes. The term “taboo OCD” refers to OCD themes that center around socially ...

A young woman has revealed her four-year ordeal of believing she was a pedophile, only to learn she was actually battling a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Molly Lambert, 22, started ...

Intrusive thoughts are unwanted and distressing ideas or images that can appear suddenly and feel impossible to control. With obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), intrusive thoughts can become ...

Intrusive sexual thoughts are often misunderstood as hidden desire, when they are more accurately a symptom of OCD and a cycle of anxiety-driven doubt.

Everybody has an occasional upsetting or shameful thought. For some people, the thoughts feel uncontrollable. It doesn't take long for someone to worry they're going "crazy" or wonder if they're just ...

Have you ever had a disturbing thought pop up into your head? Thoughts that are distressing, repetitive and unwanted are called intrusive thoughts. NPR's senior Visuals producer LA Johnson talks with ...

Many of us have wild thoughts that pop into our heads out of nowhere. But what if those thoughts were harmful and seemed to want to destroy good things in your life? And what if they happened all of ...

Roughly 163 million people experience obsessive-compulsive disorder and its associated cycles of obsessions and compulsions. They have unwanted intrusive thoughts, images or urges; they also do ...

Individuals with checking OCD experience overwhelming urges to repeatedly check things, such as locked doors, appliances being turned off, or tasks being completed correctly. Obsessive-compulsive ...

Don’t get country singer Luke Combs thinking about things, because he might have a hard time stopping. The “Fast Car” singer says that in addition to anxiety, he has a “particularly wicked” version of ...