The 'heartbreaking' OCD that can make you doubt your relationship

The 'heartbreaking' OCD that can make you doubt your relationshipImage source, SophiaImage caption, Sophia describes the toll of having relationship OCD as "mental torture"ByElena BaileyHealth reporterPublishedJust nowSophia, 24, has been in a loving relationship for more than a year, but she still finds herself questioning everything about it - from how compatible she and her boyfriend are to whether she loves him at all, and what action she might take as a result."I couldn't leave the house because I was so worried I would cheat on my boyfriend," says Sophia, a content creator and waitress from Leeds."At my worst, I couldn't go to work. I'd be lying in bed all day, asking [Chat] GPT hundreds of questions to try and get reassurance."Sophia is describing living with relationship OCD (ROCD), a form of obsessive compulsive disorder which experts say goes far beyond the normal relationship doubts that we can all experience.Instead, ROCD involves persistent intrusive doubts that cause significant distress and lead to compulsive behaviours, such as repeatedly testing your partner to try to find reassurance."It can take hours of mental energy and cause a lot of anxiety, whereas in a normal relationship these thoughts don't dominate your day," says Prof David Veale, a consultant psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust.Sophia describes the toll as "mental torture". "Having a voice in your head constantly nitpicking at your relationship and having all of these horrible thoughts against your partner; it's heartbreaking," she said.OCD affects 1.2% of the UK population, but it is hard to know just how many people are impacted by ROCD because it is not recorded separately.There is insufficient data to say whether relationship OCD affects women more than men, said Prof Veale, though his personal impression was that it was "slightly more common in women".When Pr...