Repetitive ritualistic behavior or thoughts, such as frequent hand washing, arranging objects according to a rigid formula, counting, or repeating words silently. The purpose of these behaviors or thoughts is to prevent or reduce distress or to prevent some dreaded event or situation. The person feels driven to perform such actions in response to an obsession (a recurrent thought, impulse, or image that is intrusive and distressing) or according to rules that must be applied rigidly, even though the behaviors or thoughts are recognized to be excessive or unreasonable. Failure to perform these actions often generates anxiety.
An insistent, repetitive, intrusive, and unwanted urge to perform an act that is contrary to one’s ordinary wishes or standards. Since it serves as a defensive substitute for still more unacceptable unconscious ideas and wishes, failure to perform the compulsive act leads to overt anxiety.
A compelling, irresistible impulse which causes a person to act in a way that may be contrary to his or her good judgment, training, or normal desire.
An act of forcing someone to do something, or the fact of being forced to do something.
A strong psychological force which makes someone do something, often unwillingly.
Persistent, irresistible urge to do something that is usually contrary to one’s own standards or wishes; a compelling impulse (compare obsession).
An obsession that takes the form of a motor act, such as repetitive washing based on a fear of contamination.
A repetitive stereotyped act performed to relieve fear connected with obsession. If denied, it causes uneasiness.
Behaviors or mental acts that are ritualistic and designed to reduce anxiety.
It denotes a recurring or ritualistic behavior engaged in by an individual as a means of alleviating anxiety. Compulsions frequently arise as a mechanism to manage or counteract obsessive thoughts.