Does OCD manifest itself differently in children than it does in adults?
It seems that children have more compulsive behaviors early on—such as checking, hoarding, counting and repeating behaviors—rather than obsessions, whereas older people tend to have obsessions more frequently than compulsions. If untreated, does OCD get worse over time? Generally, it’s a rather persistent condition that goes through life getting worse and getting better, often exacerbated by stress. There are fewer cases where it follows an episodic course, that is, it’s present and goes away and may recur at a later time. And there are even fewer cases where you will have the onset of the condition and then it abates spontaneously and doesn’t return. Is OCD affiliated with other mental health conditions? There does seem to be an association with a variety of other psychiatric or psychological conditions. In our own work, up to 60 to 70 percent of individuals who we diagnose with OCD will also have at least one episode of major depression at some stage in their life. There are also a v
