What is an obsession?
An obsession is a recurring thought related to the idea that something terrible may happen, either to oneself or those around one.
Examples include:
· Maybe I didn’t lock the door properly and someone is going to rob me.
· Maybe I hit someone on the road without noticing it and I’m going to be put in jail.
· I wonder if I didn’t inadvertently say something at work today that might have upset or hurt people.
· That door handle I touched might be dirty—it could contaminate me and everyone around me.
Against their will, obsession leads affected individuals to imagine a series of ominous consequences that they wish to avoid at any cost. Usually, obsession is accompanied by an urgent desire to take action. Indeed, just imagining that their thoughts could become reality forces affected individuals to take action to prevent the danger. The action thus taken is called a compulsion.
The Most Common Areas of Obsession
· Violence, horror
· Sexuality
· Religion, superstition
· Moral dilemmas, existential questions
· Mistakes, accidents
· Contamination
· Disasters
· Illness
Three Important Points about Obsession
· Obsession always includes an element of doubt. One imagines a possibility; the thought takes the form of “this might happen.”
· The doubt is not based on any real information. Instead, it is caused by the thought that danger is possible despite the evidence of one’s senses.
· The thought is sometimes horrifying and concerns a danger or misfortune that could possibly take place.
The thought that a dangerous situation may occur is what causes the anxiety. If affected individuals were sure that this situation would not happen at the moment of imagining it, they would not be so obsessed.