Obsessive compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a condition that is characterized by repetitive, intrusive, unwanted thoughts or behaviors. It is a disorder that can cause a person to perform rituals or thought patterns to help relieve the anxiety that is caused by the repetitive thoughts. People with a family history of the disorder, those with emotional trauma, and those that do not respond well to stress all may be more prone to OCD.One of the most common examples is an irrational fear of germs and dirt.Other obsessions include worries about security issues such as having left the cooker on or the house unlocked, a need for everything in life to be ordered with extreme precision, and a fear of making a mistake.

Symptoms of OCD vary but may include repeated hand-washing or cleaning, the need to check doors are locked or gadgets switched off and the arranging of items in a specific order.
Current treatments include counselling and anti-depressants but these don't work for everyone.Celebrity OCD sufferers include David Beckham, Paul Gascoigne, Harrison Ford, Emily Lloyd, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the best form of treatment for OCD. This aims to change the way people act when they are faced with an obsession: rather than carrying out the compulsion, they learn to deal with the anxiety in another way. In severe cases of OCD, CBT and anti-depressants are used together. CBT is available on the NHS.

But, you may have another treatment from Chinese medicine.

According to Chinese Medicine, OCD may be the result of an imbalance of the heart, gallbladder, and liver channels. All of these help balance the mind, decision-making abilities, our thought patterns, and help to maintain a balanced flow of our Qi.When thinking becomes muddied or unclear, it is due to something in Chinese philosophy called “dampness" or "phlegm" entities. These manifest as a heaviness that clouds the part of the body it is found within. An interesting note is that OCD can be worse on rainy days as well. Once the dampness is removed, the mind can resume normal function and the repeated patterns of thoughts will stop.There are many acupuncture points to help balance the mind and thoughts, as well as help prevent future occurrences.

When obsessive-compulsive disorder is of crippling severity and drugs and behavior therapy can't help, there has been for just over a year a thread -- or rather a wire -- of hope. By inserting a thin electrode deep into the brain, doctors can precisely deliver an electrical current to a cord of the brain's wiring and soften the severity of the symptoms. "Deep brain stimulation" therapy for OCD won Food and Drug Administration approval in 2009 for extreme cases under its humanitarian device exemption.(Sciencedaily)