Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide
Obsessions
To view the entire topic, please log in or purchase a subscription.
Official website of the Johns Hopkins Antibiotic (ABX), HIV, Diabetes, and Psychiatry Guides, powered by Unbound Medicine. Johns Hopkins Guide App for iOS, iPhone, iPad, and Android included. Explore these free sample topics:
-- The first section of this topic is shown below --
DEFINITION
An obsession is an unbidden, intrusive thought, image, or urge that intrudes into consciousness; attempts to dispel it are difficult and typically lead to anxiety. These thoughts, images, or urges are recognized as part of one’s own mental life. To varying degrees they are judged by the patient to be irrational.
An obsession can involve diverse subjects, often including:
- Aggressive thoughts
- Sexual thoughts
- Religious thoughts
- Contamination concerns
- Need for symmetry
- Need to know or remember
-- To view the remaining sections of this topic, please log in or purchase a subscription --
DEFINITION
An obsession is an unbidden, intrusive thought, image, or urge that intrudes into consciousness; attempts to dispel it are difficult and typically lead to anxiety. These thoughts, images, or urges are recognized as part of one’s own mental life. To varying degrees they are judged by the patient to be irrational.
An obsession can involve diverse subjects, often including:
- Aggressive thoughts
- Sexual thoughts
- Religious thoughts
- Contamination concerns
- Need for symmetry
- Need to know or remember
There's more to see -- the rest of this entry is available only to subscribers.
