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Contrary to popular belief, having obsessive-compulsive disorder or OCD is not only about the need to keep everything clean and tidy. In fact, many people are misjudged and mislabeled because of this common notion. 

People with OCD suffer from anxiety that is so severe that the World Health Organization once named it as one of the top 10 conditions that can handicap or lower a person's quality of life. This anxiety stems from an overestimation of threat and inflated responsibility. 

(Photo : Uday Mittal / Unsplash)

Why Does a Person With OCD Make Sure That the Door Is Locked Multiple Times?

To break this down, OCD is a cyclic disorder that starts with an obsession to safety. The overestimation of threat brings a person with OCD the belief that something is way riskier than it actually is. It then causes anxiety in that person and results in the uncontrollable impulse to perform an act. 

This compulsive behavior is a sign of an inflated responsibility that they have to act to make sure that the threat is contained or eliminated, even if it is something they do not want to do. 

Thinking that they can contain or eliminate this threat then brings temporary relief. But the doubt comes back, and again, they overestimate the threat.

This cycle is apparent when a person leaves the house and makes sure that the doors are locked, and then they check again, and again, and again. 

A similar thing happens when someone makes sure that the stove is turned off before going to bed, or everything is packed before going on a long trip, or, as a popular example, all surfaces are clean and sanitized.

While these impulses happen to everyone from time to time, individuals with OCD experience this more often, and in a way, it intrudes with their daily activities.