Mental Rituals

Mental rituals are behaviors generally associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). While the most common symptoms of OCD are physical rituals such as hand washing, checking door locks, straightening pictures, etc. there are some types of rituals that are mental in nature. These mental rituals consist of habit patterns such as counting, list making, specific prayers, repeating special words of numbers, and many others. These rituals are used compulsively as a means of managing stress as they temporarily relieve anxiety symptoms. Mental rituals can be reduced and treated with therapy.