This is a group for people with obsessive compulsive disorder whose compulsions are primarily mental in nature. This is commonly given the misnomer "Pure O" or "pure obsessional" because the compulsive behavior is less visible to outsiders and occasionally goes unnoticed even by the sufferer.

Obsessions frequently include but are not limited to a fear of harming others or oneself, fears related to sexual orientation (a.k.a. HOCD), fear of being a sexual deviant or predator (a.k.a. POCD), fear of not understanding others or of being misunderstood, obsession with personal past or pasts of others, fear of lying, fears related to relationships (a.k.a. ROCD), and fear of death and disease.

Mental compulsions include but are not limited to seeking reassurance from others or from within, confessing, thinking "neutralizing" thoughts, retracing or replaying events, checking for sexual arousal, and "mental checking" or intentionally bringing up an obsession to see if it still produces anxiety. This group is a non-judgmental safe place to discuss the OCD experience and help each other achieve better mental health through information and understanding.

This group is moderated by Jon Hershfield, MFT, a psychotherapist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy for ocd and oc spectrum disorders at the OCD Center of Los Angeles.

When subscribing, you MUST include in the "comments" field a brief explanation of why you want to join this particular support group so we can keep the spammers out! Currently this group is reserved for SUFFERERS ONLY, not family members or researchers. This group is devoted to the specific discussion of Pure O ocd, ocd where the compulsions are primarily mental. For professional wisdom and for more general ocd discussion, it is recommended to join http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/OCD-Support/