Obsessive compulsive disorder is a psychological anxiety disorder, there is the obsession and then the compulsion to try to resolve the obsession. An obsession is an unstoppable thought much like a warning sign, “obsessions involve persistent and recurring intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses that are experienced as disturbing, inappropriate, and uncontrollable.” (Butcher 202). While a compulsion is a thought or action designed to get rid of the obsession plaguing the person with the disorder, "compulsions can involve overt, repetitive behaviors performed as lengthy rituals or more covert mental rituals." (Butcher 202). The prevalence of this disorder is placed “between 1 and 3%, although the prevalence of clinically recognized obsessive compulsive disorder is much lower”. (Ramasamy 2). OCD is an anxiety disorder that is taken very seriously, with life-changing symptoms such that those affected face functional problems in their lives. When diagnosing a person with OCD, it is very easy to tell because of the symptoms. The symptoms of OCD are the obsession and compulsion themselves, each contributing to the disorder as a whole. “Within and between individuals, initial obsessions, or intrusive thoughts, vary in their clarity and vividness. A relatively vague obsession might involve a general sense of disorder or tension accompanied by the belief that life cannot proceed normally as long as the imbalance remains.” (Ramasamy 3). Compulsion is the brain's natural way of trying to resolve the obsession, by performing a certain ritual and/or repetitive behavior to compensate for the error code running through the mind. The compulsion works like a malfunctioning reset. The etiology of OCD is biological in nature and is the focus of paper treatment elsewhere, although still in an experimental phase there is a significant success rate. When faced with this diagnosis in the future, the treatment and management of OCD will change and become easier to overcome with all the research that is done. The class information, my sources, and other research all parallel each other and offer much of the same information. Works Cited Butcher, James Neal, Susan Mineka, and Jill M. Hooley. Abnormal psychology. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print.Decloedt, Eric H., and Dan J. Stein. "Current trends in the pharmacological treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder". National Center for Biotechnology Information. US National Library of Medicine, May 25, 2010. Web. March 26, 2014. Ramasamy, Revathee, Wayan Westa, and Nyoman Ratep. "E-Jurnal Udayana Medica."OBSESSIVE COULSIVE DISORDER. Udayana University, 2013. Web. 26 March. 2014.