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Medical Author:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Examples of compulsions include counting, repeating words or actions (for example, checking locks or hand washing), arranging things according to rigid rules, and praying. These behaviors are done for the purpose of preventing or decreasing anxiety or preventing an unrealistic dreaded event. An example of an unrealistic dreaded event is becoming ill if hands are washed less than once every half hour. The symptoms of OCD either significantly interfere with the sufferer's daily routine or functioning (for example, causing insomnia or difficulty concentrating at work), cause significant stress, or take up a lot of time.

In contrast to symptoms of OCD in adults, those in children may include a lack of insight that their obsessions or compulsions are a problem. Symptoms in children may also include tantrums when the child's ability to engage in compulsions is prevented. Symptoms of OCD in teenagers often involve physical (somatic) complaints. While the severity of OCD symptoms can change in their level of severity, the kind of symptoms tends to change little in adults compared to children and teens.

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