Harm OCD is a subtype of OCD that presents as thoughts or images that enter a person’s mind about harming themselves or others, some might call these thoughts intrusive. These unwanted thoughts cause significant distress to the individual. Harm OCD creates fear/worry that the content of these thoughts means something about who they are as a person. Often individuals who have this subtype of OCD are reluctant to seek treatment or disclose the nature of their obsessions due to guilt, shame, and fear of what others might do in response to the content of their thoughts. What we do know is that the content of the obsession does not mean anything about a person and that a person with Harm OCD is not actually dangerous. There are many misconceptions about OCD. We recently discussed this issue on our podcast about a NY Post article that provided inaccurate information about individuals with OCD. ~Shannon
