The 15 types of Obsessions (and how to identify them)

Absolutely all of us have been obsessed at some time and more or less intensely with something. With a saga of movies, with sports, with food, with sex, with cleaning the house, with going out to party... There are many situations in life towards which we can develop an obsession, one of the most interesting psychological concepts of studying.

When we talk about obsessions, we refer to those disturbances of the state of mind that consist of the domination that a fixed idea in our mind exerts on us, appearing repeatedly and preventing us from having total independence in our behavior, since it is difficult to repress these obsessive thoughts.

In this context, it is common (and correct) to associate obsessions with the famous OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), a mental illness in which those affected develop pathological compulsive and repetitive behaviors due to irrational and extreme obsessions. But not all obsessions are linked to OCD.

Therefore, in today's article and, as always, from the hand of the most prestigious scientific publications, We are going to investigate the psychological bases of obsession, clearly and concisely understanding what they are and, above all, how they are classified depending on its origin. Let's go there.

What are obsessions and how are they classified?

An obsession is a disturbance of the mood that emerges as a consequence of the implantation in our mind of a fixed idea that dominates us., imposing itself repetitively and against our will, making it difficult for us to repress the impulses associated with said idea. It is a "feeling" that hijacks our intellectual attention, that generates anxiety and that, no matter how many efforts we make to get rid of it, dominates us emotionally and behaviorally.

From Latin obsessivewhich means "siege", obsessions are based on the experimentation of unpleasant and intrusive thoughts that invade us against our will and that, involuntarily, push us to perform certain behaviors, since "non-performance" triggers anxiety symptoms.

Now, beyond this general definition, to understand its psychological foundations we must investigate the different kinds of obsessions that exist. And although it has been difficult to develop a classification due to the enormous diversity of different obsessions that human beings can present, Psychology has been able to include them in specific families depending on both the content and the origin of the obsession. Let us begin.

1. Reactive obsessions

Reactive obsessions are those in which the origin of said obsession is located in external factors and, therefore, identifiable. From an outside point of view, they can be perceived as realistic and more or less rational, since the stimuli that arouse this compulsion can be seen, such as the obsession with order that we will analyze later.

2. Autogenous Obsessions

In contrast, autogenous obsessions are those in which the origin of said obsession is not located in identifiable external factors, but rather inside the person. They appear abruptly in our mind without appealing to any external reality, so from an outside point of view they cannot be perceived. The sexual obsessions that we will analyze later would be an example.

3. Behavioral obsessions

By behavioral obsessions we understand all that obsession based on the influence that a fixed idea has on our behavior. It is, in fact, a "mixed-box" where those behavioral obsessions that do not fall into any of the groups that we will see a posteriori enter. Here, for example, we would have the obsession with sports, video games, series, books, movies, partying, etc.

4. Love obsessions

Love obsessions are those that are based on obsession with a person to whom we feel emotionally attracted (not purely sexual), whether said love is reciprocated or not. They lead us to need constant contact with that person, to idealize them and, unfortunately, generally to develop toxic behaviors such as those associated with controlling the person or jealousy.

5. Food obsessions

Food obsessions are those in which the compulsion is associated with food and a disturbance of our nutrition patterns. We develop an obsession with eating, something that opens the door not only to emotional and self-esteem problems, but also to an impact on our physical health due to the possible development of being overweight or obese. Therefore, this obsession with food must be addressed properly and find the root of this need to silence some psychological barrier through food.

6. Obsessions of order

Order obsessions are those in which the compulsion is based on have all our environment perfectly ordered and without symmetry problems. A person with this obsession feels anxious to perceive that everything in their home or work environment is not perfectly aligned, tidy and in their place. Everything must be impeccable, without asymmetries. It is one of the most common obsessions, especially in OCD.

7. Pollution obsessions

Contamination obsessions are those based on dominance exerted by intrusive thoughts linked to the idea that the germs around us are going to make us sick. This makes the person obsessed with cleanliness, since the idea of ​​living in a polluted environment generates deep discomfort. Hence the tendency to disinfect everything continuously, to wash compulsively (especially hands) and to avoid places, especially public ones, that could be the focus of infection of some disease.

8. Hoarding obsessions

Hoarding obsessions are those we tend to associate with Diogenes syndrome, since it is based on the need to accumulate broken or useless objects due to the irrational idea that one day we may need them. Getting rid of things is an emotional shock that generates anxiety. Even so, as long as it does not become pathological, we are not talking about Diogenes syndrome.

9. Homosexual obsessions

Homosexual obsessions are those in which a heterosexual person, usually raised in an environment where less heteronormative sexual orientations have not been respected, fears the idea of ​​being sexually attracted to someone of the same sex. Whether or not this attraction really exists, the person becomes obsessed with the idea and, because of the education she has received, is ashamed of herself.

10. Religious Obsessions

Religious obsessions are those in which the person develops a compulsion towards religion. That is to say, he feels the obsessive need to comply with all religious rites and to not depart at any time from the patterns of conduct established in the sacred texts of the religion that professes. The origin of the obsession, then, is based on the fear of committing acts that offend God or the Gods and that, therefore, may entail divine punishment.

11. Sensorimotor obsessions

By sensorimotor obsessions we understand all that obsession based on the experimentation of certain sensory experiences in the body. Thus, the focus of the compulsion is found in an exaggerated awareness of what happens in our body, constantly analyzing the breath, looking at how the eyes blink, visually perceiving the nose, feeling how much saliva we swallow, etc.

12. Obsessions due to lack of control

Lack of control obsessions are those in which intrusive thoughts are based on the fear we have of losing control. In other words, we are afraid that, in some situation, we may lose control of ourselves, fearing the consequences that this may have on a personal or professional level.

13. Violent obsessions

Violent obsessions are those compulsions based on recurrent intrusive thoughts of committing violent acts. The obsession is based precisely on the fear we have of developing acts of violenceso we will avoid situations where we may have sharp objects at hand and we will have invasive and unpleasant images of ourselves hurting loved ones and even killing people.

14. Catastrophic Obsessions

By catastrophic obsessions we understand all those compulsions of any of the types that we have seen in which the obsession itself is accompanied by the unpleasant feeling that, however irrational it may be, not doing it (such as not having the perfectly tidy house) is going to unleash a catastrophe. That is, the person becomes obsessed with the idea that, in the event of ignoring the invasive idea, something bad is going to happen, feeling, in advance, guilty of a catastrophe that has not occurred.

15. Sexual obsessions

sexual obsessions are all those compulsions based on sex, focused both on recurring and invasive fantasies of sexual content and on the constant search for partners with whom to have sex. Unfortunately, all those obsessive paraphilias not only not harmful (such as the obsession with feet as a piece of excitement), but also those associated with pedophilia or rape are also included here.