What are signs of an obsession?

Obsession symptoms
  • Fear of contamination or dirt.
  • Doubting and having difficulty tolerating uncertainty.
  • Needing things orderly and symmetrical.
  • Aggressive or horrific thoughts about losing control and harming yourself or others.
  • Unwanted thoughts, including aggression, or sexual or religious subjects.


What are signs of obsession with someone?

Symptoms of Obsessive Love Disorder
  • Overwhelming attraction to one person.
  • Possessive thoughts and actions.
  • Intense preoccupation with a relationship.
  • Threatening the other person if they leave.
  • Extreme jealousy.
  • Repeated messaging via text, email, or phone calls.
  • Monitoring the other person's actions.


What causes obsession with a person?

Trauma or experiences in childhood that lead to an insecure attachment style may lead to fear of abandonment. People with a fear of abandonment may develop obsessive tendencies. People may be fearful to be alone and they may make threats or take impulsive actions in order to prevent a partner from leaving.


What does an obsession feel like?

Obsessions are unwelcome thoughts, images, urges, worries or doubts that repeatedly appear in your mind. They can make you feel very anxious (although some people describe it as 'mental discomfort' rather than anxiety).

What is the most common obsession?

Common obsessions include fears about contamination, worries about having left appliances on or doors unlocked, fear of acting in shameful or humiliating ways, discomfort about things being out of order, extreme concerns about superstitions such as unlucky numbers or colors, and excessive worries about keeping objects ...


Stages of the Obsessive Lover



What are the different types of obsession?

There are five main types of obsessions: perfectionism (often related to symmetry, organization, or rules), relational (doubts or worries about a relationship, typically a significant other), contamination, causing harm, and unwanted intrusive thoughts (often with sexual or violent themes).

Is obsession a mental problem?

Overview. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts ("obsessions") and/or behaviors ("compulsions") that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over.

How do you break an obsession with someone?

Here's how to stop obsessing over someone if you find yourself fantasizing about them a little too much.
  1. Remember how obsession works, and why it's unproductive. ...
  2. Make a conscious effort to think about other things. ...
  3. Keep yourself too busy to (over)think about them. ...
  4. Remember that reality is more rewarding than fantasy.


Am I in love or obsessed?

If someone is in love with you, they trust you. They want you to be the best version of yourself and only want good things for you. That includes giving you space when you need it. On the other hand, someone who is obsessed with you will be jealous and possessive.

How long does an obsession last?

Just seeing your beloved can make your heart race, your legs weak and your face flushed. Touch him, and well… Movies try to convince us we'll feel this way forever, but the intense romance has an expiration date for everyone. Expect the passion to last two to three years at most, says Dr.

Is obsession a form of love?

Love is a feeling from the heart, and obsession can be termed as a crazy feeling. Though love and obsession are related in some aspects, the two can never be thought to be the same. Love is a feeling that is uncontrollable, and a feeling which one has for another person. Love always means caring, supportive and giving.


How to stop obsession?

Self-help strategies to stop obsessive thoughts
  1. Identify the thoughts. You may find it useful to learn the difference between your usual thoughts and your obsessive thoughts through a meditation practice or a thought log. ...
  2. Counter the thoughts. ...
  3. Sit with the thoughts. ...
  4. Journal. ...
  5. Engage in calming activities.


Does obsession ever go away?

However, as mentioned above, obsessive-compulsive traits never truly go away. Instead, they require ongoing management. General life stress is often the main factor for the worsening or subsiding of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

How do you act when someone is obsessed with you?

What to do when someone's obsessed with you
  1. Block them. Oldie but goldie. Nothing infuriates a stalker more than being blocked. ...
  2. Flaunt it. Kind of a contradiction, but this is key. ...
  3. Expose them. Controversial and not recommended unless things get serious, expose a stalker for their antics ONLY if you have proof. ...
  4. Report them.


Can an obsession be cured?

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can be treated. The treatment recommended will depend on how much it's affecting your life. The 2 main treatments are: psychological therapy – usually a type of therapy that helps you face your fears and obsessive thoughts without "putting them right" with compulsions.

What is the root of obsession?

Many people who experience obsessions show a genetic predisposition to it. One thought is that obsessions may be something that we inherit through our DNA. Other experts think there may be chemical differences within some peoples' brains that might make you more likely to have obsessions.

What is an obsessive personality?

Often referred to as “Pure O”, or “Purely Obsessional OCD”, obsessive personality types are marked by repeated, intrusive, and uncontrollable thoughts that usually have no outwardly related behavioral compulsions. Instead of having outward rituals, the person suffers from inward, mental rituals.


What is an example of obsessive behavior?

For example, a person who fears contamination with germs may wash their hands repeatedly, or someone with a fear of harming their family may have the urge to repeat an action multiple times to "neutralise" the thought.

What does obsession do to the brain?

Unfortunately, obsessive-compulsive disorder diminishes the amount of grey matter in the brain, making people with OCD less able to control their impulses. Low levels of grey matter can also change the way you process information, making you more likely to obsess over “bad thoughts” whether you intend to or not.

How do you break the cycle of an obsession?

The best way to put an end to the cycle is to practice exposure and response prevention. This means you “accept” the thoughts, live with the uncertainty, and refrain from engaging in compulsions.


What is obsession in mental health?

Obsessions. Obsessions are recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that cause distressing emotions such as anxiety, fear or disgust. Many people with OCD recognize that these are a product of their mind and that they are excessive or unreasonable.

What is obsession in a relationship?

Obsessive love or obsessive love disorder (OLD) is a proposed condition in which one person feels an overwhelming obsessive desire to possess and protect another person, sometimes with an inability to accept failure or rejection.

What is obsessive thinking?

Obsessions are repeated thoughts, urges, or mental images that cause anxiety. Common obsessions include: Fear of germs or contamination. Fear of forgetting, losing, or misplacing something. Fear of losing control over one's behavior.


What are obsession rituals?

People with OCD may experience unwanted and intrusive thoughts, which causes them to repeatedly perform ritualistic behaviors and routines. These unwanted and persistent thoughts are called obsessions and the rituals are called compulsions.

Is Obsession part of depression?

It is in the more severe forms of depression that obsessions and compulsions are seen which is also indicated by scales such as the Hamilton Observer Rating Scale for Depression (Hamilton, 1960) where these symptoms are included in supplementary items to assess the severity of depression.