This problem comes in many different forms. A person can be obsessed or phobic about the future, an illness, the evil eye, traveling, etc. In all these cases, the OCD or phobia is an idea or thought that continually preoccupies or intrudes on a person’s mind which makes him or her repeat or avoid certain behavior to reduce the distress.

Khalida Taha, a Jordanian housewife and mother of one daughter, is very preoccupied with her daughter’s health.

“I worry a lot about my daughter’s health, but I don’t believe it is an obsession. As I lost my first baby when he was just three-months-old, I fear that I may lose my daughter in the same way. I always imagine her getting sick and dying.” Such feelings disturb Khalida’s life, and cause many nightmares.

Her husband and in-laws, however, think she is obsessed: “My husband’s family, who lives next to us, always ask me to send my daughter over to play with them, but I refuse. This angered them and my husband too, but I don’t care. I care about my daughter’s safety and I am sure that no one takes care of her like I do,” Khalida said.

Huda Al-Jihani, a Saudi married woman aged 37, never had problems with traveling by car. Recently, she had an accident and lost her husband, which always niggles at the back of her mind.

“Last year, my husband and I traveled to Yanbu to attend a relative’s wedding. We had an accident, in which my husband died. Since that day I am afraid to travel by car to Yanbu. In contrast, I traveled to Madinah twice this year without any problems,” Al-Jihani said.

Rakan Al-Ayoubi, a 30-year-old Saudi man, witnessed a car hitting his brother when he was five-years-old. As a result, he was afraid to drive a car for many years. “My brothers also saw the car crash, but they weren’t as traumatized as I was,” said Al-Ayoubi.

According to Al-Ayoubi, when he decided to marry, his fiancée taunted him for not being able to drive a car.

“My fiancée advised me to get psychological treatment, but I refused. She kept threatening to break off the engagement if I didn’t take action. My family also encouraged me to get treated. After undergoing treatment, I gradually overcame the fear of driving a car.”

Dr. Mohammed Al-Hamed, head of the psychological department at Bakhsh hospital, confirms that most people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder are unaware of it.

“Obsession is an idea that repeats itself several times in the patient’s mind. The patient realizes that this idea is trivial and untrue, but he still fears it. Not all obsessions are real obsessions. Some problems can be identified as phobia, while others can be called personality disorder, in addition to many medical terminologies that the average person doesn’t understand,” said Al-Hamed. He added, “Most of those suffering from OCD or fears refuse to face the truth. They also refuse to visit a psychological clinic; the obsessed person prefers to continue his life, suffering in silence. He believes that no one notices his obsessions. But the truth is people around him are upset about his obsession.”

Al-Hamed confirmed that the floods in Jeddah caused fears among a large number of people.

“I still receive many patients that can’t forget a scene of dying people during the 2009-flood. Their fears increase when the weather becomes gloomy,” said Al-Hamed.

OCD is linked to several elements, such as a psychological element, a biological element, heritage and environmental elements.

“A person who suffers from OCD or phobias may have got it because of the way his parents raised him, the environment he lived in, traumatic accidents that affected him psychologically, or because of inheritance from the parents,” said Al-Hamed.