Distorted Physical Sensations in OCD

a post by Janet Singer for the World of Psychology blog

NOTE: I have not included the image of hand washing which I really felt was too much of a cliché. Be aware that when you click through that it is there.


I have previously written about OCD and mental imagery, where I discussed how those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (and those of us without) sometimes see, hear, or feel things without the presence of corresponding external stimuli. In particular, those with OCD often find their intrusive thoughts are accompanied by sensory experiences that attach some type of physical sensation to the distorted thinking of OCD.

A recent study published on November 20, 2017, in the journal Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy delves into the link between the strength of compulsions associated with OCD and the physical sensations that come with them. For example, the study authors noted that participants who struggle with contamination obsessions might feel “uncomfortable sensations in the skin, muscles or others body parts, like an itch or a burning sensation that drives the patient to do the compulsion until feeling…relief.”

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