Help for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Actress Joan Crawford was suffering from it when she asked her maid to wax a tree. Millionaire industrialist Howard Hughes had it when he stuffed window cracks full of tissue paper to keep out germs. So did 18th-century English playwright Samuel Johnson in making bizarre twisting movements every time he walked under a door. What they all were afflicted with was obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), an illness which traps people in seemingly endless cycles of repetitive thoughts that won't leave their minds (obsessions) and in feelings that they must repeat certain actions over and over (compulsions) to avert disaster.

Phebe Tucker, a psychiatrist at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, explains that OCD impels them to spend large amounts of time participating in odd rituals, such as counting over and over to a certain number, checking locks, electrical outlets. and light switches: hoarding items like old newspapers or containers; repeatedly putting clothes on and then taking them off; or visiting the police station to make sure they haven't killed somebody. Approximately three percent of the population suffers from this condition.

"This disease is known as the 'doubting disease,' because it's as if the mind doesn't register when the person turns off a light switch or unplugs the iron. The more they check, the more unsure they are. They may literally be unable to leave their house because they have to keep checking on the source of their obsession."

Tucker offers answers to frequently asked questions regarding the disorder:

If I check under the bed and behind doors at night, does that mean I have OCD? No, everybody checks a little bit. Most may go back and check the coffee pot or garage door once or twice, but then they dismiss it from their minds and go on. The person with OCD can not stop checking and worrying.

Can people have only obsessions or only compulsions? Yes, about 20% of those with OCD have only obsessions or only compulsions, but most (80%)have both. Hughes, for instance, had a "contamination" obsession, coupled with a compulsion of stuffing window cracks and having delivered documents wrapped in special tissue paper to keep out germs.

What are the most common obsessions? The fear of getting dirty or infected; fear of AIDS; disgust over body wastes or secretions; concern that a task has been done poorly or incorrectly; fear of thinking evil or sinful thoughts; extreme concern with certain sounds, images, words, or...