About half of all OCD cases start before the age of 18. In this video, Wayne Goodman, MD, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, explains why it's important to diagnose the disease early.
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1/2 the cases with OCD have onset before the age 18. Then there's another group where you often see it in early adulthood. The ones with that adults have had it for a long period of time and may be a little bit more resistant to treatment. So if you catch somebody really early when they are the childhood onset, you may stand a better chance of preventing its progression.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental illness where frequent obsessive thoughts cause obsessive, destructive actions like hand-washing. Counseling and medications can help patients manage OCD.
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