What "Type" of OCD Do I Have?

The OCD Subtype Soup: Understanding the Many Flavors of the Same Dish

Let's get something straight right off the bat: OCD is OCD is OCD. OCD is the same underlying disorder, regardless of theme—driven by obsessions (unwanted thoughts) and compulsions (rituals used to reduce anxiety or gain certainty). While your brain might be serving up different flavors of intrusive thoughts, the underlying recipe remains frustratingly consistent: unwanted thoughts or feelings (obsessions) show up uninvited, followed by desperate attempts to make them go away (compulsions). Rinse and repeat until you're exhausted, then do it some more. We know this cycle can be draining—and it’s not your fault.

Here's the thing about OCD "subtypes" – they're essentially just describing the content of your obsessions, not fundamentally different disorders. It's like how pizza can have different toppings but it's all still pizza. (Though I'd argue pineapple doesn't belong on pizza OR in your OCD recovery plan, but that's a debate for another day.)

That said, recognizing your particular "flavor" of OCD can be helpful for several reasons:

1. It validates that your experience has a name and you're not alone
2. It helps you recognize when OCD shape-shifts into new content areas (that sneaky beast)
3. It guides which specific exposures might be most helpful in treatment

So let's dive into the OCD subtype soup – just remember that no matter which "type" resonates with you, the path to recovery follows the same principles.

OCD Subtypes: The "Is Everyone Safe?" Collection

Harm OCD

"What if I hurt someone I love? What if I pushed that person off the subway platform? What if I'm secretly dangerous?"

Ah, Harm OCD – making the kindest, gentlest souls on the planet terrified they might suddenly become ax murderers. The cruel irony is that people with Harm OCD are typically the LEAST likely people to actually harm others, precisely because they're so horrified by these thoughts.

Typical compulsions include:

• Avoiding knives, sharp objects, or situations where harm could occur
• Mentally reviewing situations to make sure nothing bad happened
• Seeking endless reassurance that you're not a dangerous person
• Avoiding being alone with loved ones you fear harming

Checking OCD

"Did I lock the door? Turn off the stove? Unplug the iron? Better check again... and again... and again..."

The classic "did I lock the door?" concern on steroids. With Checking OCD, your brain becomes convinced that unless you check something a certain number of times or in a specific way, disaster will strike – and it will be ALL. YOUR. FAULT.

The problem? Checking actually reinforces uncertainty rather than resolving it. The more you check, the less confident you feel, creating a never-ending loop that OCD is all too happy to exploit.

Contamination OCD

"I touched that doorknob and now I might get sick/make someone else sick/spread an incurable disease that will wipe out humanity."

This isn't just germaphobia – it's the overwhelming fear that contaminants will cause devastating harm to yourself or others. Unlike someone who simply prefers cleanliness, a person with Contamination OCD experiences extreme distress and engages in extensive washing, cleaning, or avoidance rituals.

What's especially exhausting is that "contamination" can spread in the OCD mind – from one object to another, through the air, by thought alone – making the world increasingly smaller and more threatening.

OCD Subtypes: The "Who Am I Really?" Collection

Relationship OCD (ROCD)

"Do I really love my partner? Are they right for me? What if I'm making a terrible mistake? What if I'm settling?"

ROCD takes normal relationship doubts and cranks them up to eleven, creating a constant state of uncertainty about your relationship. You might analyze every interaction, compare your relationship to others, or seek constant reassurance that you're with "the right person."

The cruelest part? The more you try to figure out your "true feelings," the more disconnected you become from them. It's like trying to see if your eyes are open by constantly poking at them.

Sexual Orientation OCD (SO-OCD)

"What if I'm not really straight/gay? What if I'm in denial about my true sexuality? What if I suddenly become attracted to [gender I'm not typically attracted to]?"

Also called HOCD (Homosexual OCD), this subtype involves intrusive doubts about your sexual orientation. The content can go in any direction – straight people fearing they're gay, gay people fearing they're straight, or anyone fearing they're bisexual or uncertain.

Important note: SO-OCD is NOT about being homophobic or struggling to accept one's sexuality. It's about the intolerance of uncertainty, just like all forms of OCD.

Existential OCD

"What if life has no meaning? How can I be sure I exist? What if everything is just a simulation? What if I'm making the wrong choices about how to live?"

While many people have philosophical wonderings about existence, for someone with Existential OCD, these questions become torturous loops with no resolution. The search for "ultimate truth" or "certainty" about philosophical questions becomes all-consuming.

Compulsions often take the form of endless rumination, seeking reassurance from philosophical texts, or mentally reviewing your beliefs for consistency.

OCD Subtypes: The "Everything Must Be Perfect" Collection

Just Right OCD

"It doesn't FEEL right. I need to do it again until it feels perfect."

Unlike other subtypes driven by specific fears, "Just Right" OCD is often characterized by a vague but intense feeling that something isn't quite right. You might repeat actions until they feel "just right" or arrange objects until they seem "perfectly" positioned.

The frustrating part? There's no logical endpoint. "Right" is a feeling that OCD keeps moving just out of reach, like chasing the end of a rainbow.

Counting OCD

"I need to do this in multiples of four... if I mess up, I have to start over."

Numbers take on magical importance with this subtype. You might feel compelled to count steps, ceiling tiles, words in sentences – anything, really – according to rigid rules. Breaking these rules feels catastrophic, even if you can't articulate exactly why.

Magical Thinking OCD

"If I don't tap the doorframe three times, my mom might get in a car accident."

This subtype involves believing your thoughts or actions have supernatural power to influence unrelated events. It's superstition on overdrive – where the stakes feel life-or-death rather than just "bad luck."

The tricky part is that coincidences can seem to "prove" these connections, reinforcing the belief that your rituals really do prevent disaster.

OCD Subtypes: The "Less Common But Equally Valid" Collection

Pedophilia OCD (POCD)

"What if I'm attracted to children? What if I could harm a child? Does having this thought mean I'm a pedophile?"

Perhaps one of the most shame-inducing and misunderstood subtypes. People with POCD experience unwanted intrusive thoughts about children and become terrified these thoughts mean they're pedophiles – despite feeling no actual attraction to children.

The shame associated with these thoughts often prevents people from seeking help, which is tragic because POCD responds well to proper treatment.

Perinatal/Postpartum OCD

"What if I drop my baby? What if I harm my baby? What if I'm not fit to be a parent?"

New parents are especially vulnerable to OCD, which can latch onto the immense responsibility of caring for a helpless infant. The typical joy of new parenthood gets hijacked by intrusive, horrifying thoughts of harming your child – thoughts that are completely at odds with who you are.

Real Events OCD

"Did I hit someone with my car without realizing it? Did I accidentally say something inappropriate at work? Did I commit a crime I don't remember?"

This subtype involves obsessing about real past events and catastrophizing about possible consequences or interpretations. While everyone makes mistakes, Real Events OCD magnifies minor incidents into moral catastrophes or creates uncertainty about whether something happened at all.

False Memory OCD

"Did that really happen or am I remembering it wrong? What if I actually did something terrible and repressed it?"

The human memory is famously unreliable, but OCD can weaponize this fact, creating crippling doubt about whether your memories reflect what actually happened. Each attempt to "check" your memory actually creates more confusion and uncertainty.

Scrupulosity (Religious) OCD

"What if I've committed an unforgivable sin? What if my thoughts are offensive to God? What if I've lost my salvation?"

Faith and religious practice can be deeply meaningful, but OCD can corrupt this relationship by inserting overwhelming doubt about your moral standing, sin, blasphemy, or religious obligations. The compulsions often involve excessive prayer, confession, or seeking reassurance from religious texts or leaders.

The ACT-Infused ERP Approach: Treating ANY Subtype of OCD

Here's what you need to know about effective OCD treatment: we don't actually need to "solve" the content of your obsessions. In fact, trying to do so is a trap.

Traditional Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy remains the gold standard treatment for OCD, but modern approaches incorporate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) principles that make the process more effective and sustainable.

The ACT-infused approach recognizes that:

1. The problem isn't your thoughts – it's your relationship with your thoughts
2. Certainty is impossible – and chasing it only strengthens OCD
3. Values matter – recovery isn't just about reducing anxiety, it's about living a meaningful life

Treatment involves gradually facing feared situations (exposure) without performing compulsions (response prevention), but with an important twist: the goal isn't to reduce anxiety. The goal is to practice making space for uncomfortable thoughts and feelings while doing what matters to you.

Some key principles of this approach:

Psychological Flexibility vs. Control

OCD demands certainty and control. Effective treatment helps you develop psychological flexibility – the ability to experience difficult thoughts and feelings without letting them control your behavior.

This means learning to notice thoughts as just thoughts, make room for uncomfortable feelings, and choose actions based on what matters to you rather than what OCD dictates.

Willingness vs. Anxiety Reduction

Rather than tracking anxiety levels during exposures, we focus on willingness – your openness to experiencing whatever shows up internally (thoughts, feelings, sensations) without fighting it.

Success in treatment isn't measured by feeling less anxious, but by your ability to take valued action regardless of how you feel.

Values as Motivation

Recovery is hard work. Connecting to what matters to you provides the motivation to face difficult challenges in treatment. Whether it's being present with family, excelling in your career, or simply living with greater freedom, your values provide direction when OCD tries to derail you.

Living with Uncertainty: The Road to Freedom

Here's the uncomfortable truth that OCD hates: Life is uncertain. Always has been, always will be.

OCD offers an illusion of control through rituals and rules, but that promise is as empty as a politician's campaign pledge. The path to freedom isn't through achieving perfect certainty (impossible) but through making peace with uncertainty.

This doesn't mean giving up on knowledge or accuracy where it's possible. It means recognizing that absolute certainty about the things OCD cares about is not attainable – and that's okay. You can live a rich, meaningful life without it.

Recovery means building your tolerance for sitting in the discomfort of not knowing for sure. It means being willing to say "maybe" to OCD's desperate questions and moving forward anyway.

No matter what "type" of OCD you're dealing with, remember this: You are not your thoughts. OCD is a bullying roommate in your mind, not your true self. With proper treatment and practice, you can learn to live according to your values, not your fears – even when those unwanted thoughts continue to pop up.

Because they will. And that's okay too. If you’re ready to start, seek a therapist trained in both ERP and ACT—your path to freedom begins with expert support.

This article is for informational purposes and not a substitute for professional medical advice.