Yesterday, someone asked me if I'd ever been diagnosed as being obsessive- compulsive. This was not the first time someone has asked me this. I looked it up, and I fit some of the symptoms (such as counting steps and not walking on cracks). I don't consider myself to be dangerous or neurotic, but I wonder? How would I know, and when should I be concerned?

-- Angie

The time to be concerned about any behavior -- obsessive-compulsive or otherwise -- is when it begins to interfere with your personal relationships, work or other aspects of your life. If you are consistently late to work because you have to count steps, avoid cracks or perform other such rituals, for instance, then it might be time to seek help. If your behavior is a minor annoyance that doesn't cause you or others much distress, then whether you try to change it is up to you.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the full-blown clinical version of obsessive-compulsive behavior, is treatable with psychotherapy as well as anti-obsessional medication. Interestingly, PET scans show similar positive changes in the brains of OCD patients from psychotherapy as from medication alone.

One type of therapy frequently used for OCD is a type of behavior therapy called "exposure plus response prevention," in which the person is exposed to the anxiety-producing stimulus (that which triggers the obsessions or compulsions), either literally or imaginally, and then refrains from engaging in the associated obsessive-compulsive behavior. Of course, that may result in a temporary rise in anxiety -- which then peaks and passes, as in the normal flow of emotions. Eventually, the individual learns that the feared outcome of not engaging in the obsessive-compulsive behavior does not occur.

If you still have questions about whether you have OCD or would benefit from treatment, consider scheduling a session or two with a psychologist to discuss that possibility.