Common Fears & OCD Subtypes
OCD subtypes can help people to find community with others who share similar experiences, and they can assist therapists in designing targeted treatment plans, but they don't tell the whole story. If you can't find your subtype, that doesn't mean you don't have OCD—everyone's experience is unique, and many people's OCD symptoms don't fit neatly into any specific theme.
Health and Contamination OCD
Health Concern/Contamination OCD is a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) where a person experiences obsessive thoughts around fears of becoming contaminated, contaminating others, or contracting and spreading a disease. These obsessive thoughts drive people to engage in various compulsions aimed at alleviating their anxieties about contamination (e.g., showering for hours or until they feel clean).
If you’re experiencing fears about coming into contact with sperm and becoming contaminated or feeling dirty, it may be Contamination OCD.
By Stacy Quick, LPC
For people with OCD fear of toilets anything involved with restroom contaminants can become an issue that is hard to manage.
Fear of needles in Contamination OCD is characterized by intrusive thoughts about coming into contact with a needle that may be contaminated.
Reviewed by admin
OCD with a focus on the fear of aging is characterized by unwanted and intrusive thoughts about aging and the potential difficulties or issues associated with it.
A constant or repetitive fear of drugs can be a sign of OCD, likely falling under the OCD theme of health or contamination fears.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
OCD with a focus on the fear of urine is characterized by intrusive thoughts or worries about possibly coming into contact with urine.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
OCD fears about harmful contamination involve obsessive thoughts of harming others by spreading a contaminant.
Reviewed by Taylor Newendorp
Fear of having bipolar disorder in OCD is characterized by unwanted and intrusive thoughts about being diagnosed with or being bipolar.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Fear of taking medication in OCD is characterized by unwanted and intrusive thoughts/images about adverse reactions to medications.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Fear of paralysis in Health Concern OCD causes intrusive, unwanted thoughts and/or images of being paralyzed.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD