Common Causes And Complications Of OCD

Inability To Attend Certain Activities

One common complication of OCD is the avoidance of certain activities, places, people, or social situations. There may be a multitude of reasons for this. Some patients might avoid social activities because of the shame they're struggling with. In other cases, certain phenomena might trigger OCD symptoms. If a patient becomes afraid that going to an event or being near a certain individual will cause a bad episode, they might avoid that situation because they believe missing it is better than the potential issue. However, avoiding situations doesn't help with the management of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms in the long run. In fact, the more an individual avoids a situation, the greater the anxiety surrounding it will be. Individuals who feel isolated by obsessive-compulsive disorder also tend to experience stronger symptoms of depression due to their isolation. This can be especially brutal if the fears are related to things the patient previously enjoyed like friends, favorite hangout spots, the homes of family members, or hobbies. If the individual does go into a potentially triggering situation and have a bad reaction, this negative association may cause them to avoid it more fiercely in the future.