OCD self-screening tool

OCD Self-Screening Tools

This tool can help you notice patterns that may overlap with OCD, including intrusive thoughts, reassurance seeking, checking, mental review, avoidance, and compulsions. It is educational only. It does not diagnose OCD or determine whether treatment is appropriate.

Start OCD screener Learn about OCD

Private to youNo form submission

Educational onlyNot a diagnosis

Pattern focusedIntrusions, rituals, avoidance

A screening result is a starting point, not a conclusion. The useful question is not “Do I have perfect certainty?” It is “What pattern is keeping me stuck?”

Before you use this tool

Use this page for reflection, not certainty seeking

If you struggle with OCD or anxiety, online questionnaires can become another way to seek certainty. Try to answer based on your general pattern, then use the result as information to discuss in a consultation or assessment.

Not diagnostic

This tool does not diagnose OCD, PTSD, anxiety disorders, or any other mental health condition.

Not crisis care

If you may harm yourself or someone else, call 988, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room.

Not reassurance

The goal is to notice patterns, not to get perfect certainty about whether your symptoms “count.”

OCD screener

OCD pattern self-screener

Answer based on the last few weeks or months. This tool looks for overlap with common OCD patterns: intrusive thoughts, distress, compulsions, reassurance seeking, avoidance, and time or life interference.

11 questions

Do you experience unwanted or intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that feel distressing or hard to control?

Do these thoughts return repeatedly, even when you try to ignore or stop them?

Do these thoughts cause significant anxiety, distress, shame, or discomfort?

Do you feel driven to perform behaviors or mental actions, such as checking, repeating, reviewing, washing, confessing, or seeking reassurance?

Does the relief from these behaviors or mental actions tend to be short-lived?

Do you avoid situations, objects, people, places, or thoughts because they trigger anxiety or intrusive thoughts?

Even when you recognize these thoughts or behaviors may be excessive, do they still feel hard to resist?

Do you frequently seek reassurance or certainty from others, online searches, your own memory, or your own reasoning?

Do you try to neutralize or control thoughts by mentally reviewing, fixing, answering, praying, replacing, or trying to think the right way?

Do these thoughts or behaviors take up a lot of time or mental energy?

Do they interfere with work, school, parenting, relationships, sleep, or daily responsibilities?

Please answer each question before viewing your result.

Recommended next steps

Schedule a free 15-minute consultation Learn about ERP

Your answers and score stay on this device. They are not saved, submitted, or sent to Google Analytics.

This tool is not a diagnosis. A high score does not prove OCD. A low score does not rule it out. A clinical assessment is needed to understand what is happening.

How to use your result

Bring the pattern, not the perfect answer

The most useful information from a screener is usually the pattern: intrusive thoughts, avoidance, compulsions, reassurance seeking, checking, mental review, health anxiety, social anxiety overlap, or intolerance of uncertainty.

Next steps

Use your result to decide whether to schedule a consultation, read more about OCD, or complete a full clinical assessment with a licensed provider.

Schedule a free 15-minute consultation Learn about OCD

Whatif Therapy

Structured OCD therapy across California

Whatif Therapy provides secure telehealth treatment for OCD and anxiety related concerns using evidence based exposure work.

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FAQ

OCD self-screening questions

Can this page diagnose OCD?

No. This tool can show overlap with common OCD and anxiety patterns. But diagnosis requires a clinical assessment.

What if I keep retaking the test?

That may be a sign the tool has become part of reassurance seeking. Consider stopping after one attempt and discussing the pattern in a consultation.

What if I score low but still feel stuck?

A low score does not mean your distress is unimportant. It may mean your symptoms need a fuller assessment or a different kind of treatment focus.

What if ERP sounds scary?

ERP should be challenging. But it should also be planned and collaborative. The goal is not to flood you. The goal is to help you practice responding differently to anxiety, uncertainty, and intrusive thoughts.

Written and reviewed by

Matthew Baker, LCSW

California Licensed Clinical Social Worker #121926 specializing in ERP for OCD and anxiety disorders and Prolonged Exposure for PTSD. View Matthew's professional background.

Content reviewed August 2026.

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