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A disorder that is characterized by recurrent, persistent ideas, thoughts, images or impulses that invade consciousness and are experienced as senseless, anxiety provoking or repugnant; or repetitive and ritualistic behavior that is not an end in itself but designed, in the mind of the individual, to help bring about or prevent some future event or situation. Common obsessions include repetitive thoughts of violence, (killing one's child), contamination (becoming infected by shaking hands), and doubt (repeatedly wondering whether one has performed some action such as having hurt someone in a traffic accident). The most common compulsions involve repetitive hand washing, repetitive counting of certain things like cracks in the sidewalk, repetitive checking to see that a door is locked or a light is out, or repetitive touching of an object or a part of the body to make something happen or prevent it from occurring.