Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is categorized as:

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is categorized as:

• A. An anxiety disorder
• B. A mood disorder
• C. A personality disorder
• D. A psychotic disorder

Answer: (A)

OCD centers on intense anxiety triggered by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and the relief sought through repetitive actions (compulsions). Because the core issue is anxiety and distress driving the behaviors, it fits with anxiety disorders rather than mood, personality, or psychotic disorders. Mood disorders revolve around persistent mood episodes, not primarily about obsessions and ritualized behaviors. Personality disorders involve enduring patterns of behavior and inner experience across contexts, not the acute anxiety-driven manifestations of OCD. Psychotic disorders involve a loss of reality testing, such as delusions or hallucinations, which OCD patients typically do not have (and they often recognize their thoughts are intrusive). In practice, OCD is often discussed as part of the anxiety-spectrum or, in DSM-5, under obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, but the defining feature remains anxiety, guiding both classification and treatment, such as exposure and response prevention and SSRIs.

OCD centers on intense anxiety triggered by intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and the relief sought through repetitive actions (compulsions). Because the core issue is anxiety and distress driving the behaviors, it fits with anxiety disorders rather than mood, personality, or psychotic disorders. Mood disorders revolve around persistent mood episodes, not primarily about obsessions and ritualized behaviors. Personality disorders involve enduring patterns of behavior and inner experience across contexts, not the acute anxiety-driven manifestations of OCD. Psychotic disorders involve a loss of reality testing, such as delusions or hallucinations, which OCD patients typically do not have (and they often recognize their thoughts are intrusive). In practice, OCD is often discussed as part of the anxiety-spectrum or, in DSM-5, under obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, but the defining feature remains anxiety, guiding both classification and treatment, such as exposure and response prevention and SSRIs.