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.
Relationship OCD
Relationship obsessive-compulsive disorder (R-OCD) is an OCD subtype that is characterized by ongoing intrusive thoughts and compulsive behavior around uncertainty of a relationship. People with R-OCD experience frequent doubting thoughts about one or more relationships (e.g., “Am I truly in love with my partner?”) in spite of little evidence supporting the need for these doubts. The doubting thoughts are often viewed as an indication that the relationship may be disingenuous or “flawed” in some way, which fuels anxiety about the relationship and drives sufferers to engage in various compulsions aimed at gaining certainty about their relationship status (e.g., asking for continual reassurance from a friend).
If you feel like your aversion to being touched is intense, it’s natural to wonder what the underlying cause might be—especially if it's interfering with your life.
By Erica Digap Burson
Reviewed by April Kilduff, MA, LCPC
Relationships are difficult, but sometimes worrying over texts exceeds general anxiety about a relationship. Let’s explain something called Relationship OCD.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Gain valuable insights into the potential relationship between fear of being fired and OCD, empowering yourself to navigate work-related anxiety.
By Melanie Dideriksen, LPC, CAADC
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Is thinking people can read your thoughts OCD? Discover the symptoms, triggers, and effective treatments to help overcome fear of mind reading in OCD.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
If you find yourself consistently scared to be happy in a relationship, it may be a sign that you have relationship-themed OCD, or ROCD.
Fear of cheating involves serious concern about cheating or being cheated on by a romantic partner either in the past, present, or future.
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
OCD focused on the fear of rape involves repeated intrusive, obsessive thoughts involving rape that cause intense anxiety or distress.
By Amber Samson, LCPC
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD
Paternity fears in OCD involve unwanted intrusive, irrational thoughts which create doubt about the identity of the father of one’s child, from the perspective of any parent.
Fear of divorce, a subtype of Relationship OCD (ROCD) may include specific fears or worries about divorce.
Reviewed by Taylor Newendorp
Fear of abandonment involves a chronic, persistent fear that someone will leave them, This fear can present on its own or as OCD.
By Melanie Dideriksen, LPC, CAADC
Reviewed by Patrick McGrath, PhD