A private two-minute self-check
Do I have OCD?
A private self-check
This free two-minute check helps you recognise which kind of intrusive thoughts you are experiencing. It cannot diagnose OCD, and no online test can. What it can do is name the pattern and point you toward what actually helps. Your answers stay in your browser.
A private two-minute self-check
What this check covers
Intrusive thoughts come in
recognisable kinds
Seeing your own listed among the others is often the first useful thing that happens.
- Harm OCDThoughts about harming someone you would never want to hurt.
- Postpartum intrusive thoughtsFrightening thoughts about your baby.
- POCD (unwanted sexual thoughts)Repugnant sexual thoughts you would never act on.
- ROCD (relationship intrusive thoughts)Relentless doubt about your relationship.
- HOCD (sexual-orientation intrusive thoughts)Panic-driven doubt about your sexual orientation.
- Scrupulosity (religious or moral OCD)Fear of being sinful, blasphemous, or a bad person.
- Pure O and existential intrusive thoughtsDark, random, or existential thoughts with no clear theme.
- Sensorimotor or body-focused OCDBeing unable to stop monitoring a body sensation.
Whichever theme yours turns out to be, the mechanism underneath is the same one. The full explanation of why these thoughts stick, and the first move to practise when one arrives, is in how to stop intrusive thoughts.
Common questions
Before you begin
Can an online test tell me if I have OCD?
No. No online questionnaire can diagnose OCD, and any that claims to is overreaching. What a good self-check can do is help you recognise the shape of what you are experiencing and point you toward the right information. A diagnosis comes from a qualified clinician.
Is this self-check private?
Yes. Your individual answers stay in your browser and are never stored on our servers, and the check never asks you to type a thought out. Seeing your full result asks for an email address; we store that address with your result type and severity band, nothing else. We also use anonymous analytics that count steps completed, never what you selected.
What is the difference between intrusive thoughts and OCD?
Almost everyone has intrusive thoughts. In the largest cross-cultural study to date, 94 percent of people reported at least one in a three-month window. OCD is diagnosed when obsessions or compulsions consume significant time, usually more than an hour a day, and cause marked distress or interfere with daily life.
Does the content of my thoughts mean something about me?
No. Intrusive thoughts are ego-dystonic, which means they conflict with what the person having them actually values. That conflict is why they are distressing. The distress is evidence the thought runs against what you want, not evidence of intent.
If you need support right now
This check is education, not crisis support. If you are in danger, thinking about harming yourself, or worried about someone else, please reach out now. You will not be judged for asking.
- UK and Ireland Samaritans, 116 123
- United States 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 988
- Other countries Find A Helpline