Not everything is OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder):
- Concern or worry: it is not unreasonable or exaggerated; it is not an obsession.
- Fixed ideas: they differ from obsessions in that they are not unpleasant or painful and are not always involuntary.
- Manias or habits: these differ from compulsion in that they do not cause suffering and do not deprive one of the freedom to act without.
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is defined by the combination of at least four of the following:
- Preoccupation with details, rules, inventories, organisation or plans to the extent that the main purpose of the activity is lost from view;
- Perfectionism that hinders task completion;
- Excessive devotion to work and productivity, to the exclusion of leisure and friendships;
- Rigidity and scrupulousness about moral, ethical or value issues;
- Inability to throw away worn out or useless items even if they have no sentimental value;
- Reluctance to delegate tasks or work with others unless others submit exactly to the way one wants things to be done;
- Stinginess with money for self and others: money is seen as something to be hoarded for future disasters;
- Rigidity and stubbornness.
A tic is the involuntary contraction of a muscle or muscle group. Tics and OCD therefore seem quite different. But sometimes there are very strong links between them and the tic should be identified as a compulsion secondary to an obsessive stimulus.