Harm OCD S3 C7: Harm OCD – Dimensions

Harm OCD being so common, it is understandable that almost anything can become an obsession, because any object can begin to look like a weapon and any event can begin to look like a crime scene. Hence, identifying all the obsessions and rationalizing them separately may be a difficult and futile exercise. For the sake of convenience, therefore, I have classified all harm obsessions into sixteen dimensions based on three parameters – is the harm caused by self or by others, is the harm caused to self or to others, and is the harm aimed at causing injury or death. The following two tables outline these dimensions and examples of obsessions for each dimension have been provided.

Table 3.6.1: Harm caused by me

	Harming Self		Harming Others
	Hurting	Causing Death	Hurting	Causing Death
Accidental	What if I accidentally poke myself in the eye with this pencil?	What if I accidentally poison myself and die?	What if I accidentally injure someone in the eye with my finger?	What if I accidentally push someone under a bus and kill them?
Deliberate	I am getting the urge to cut myself with this box cutter	I feel I want to jump off the 15th floor and commit suicide	I am getting the urge to scratch my partner’s face with my nails	I feel the urge to stab my pets and kill them

Table 3.6.2: Harm caused by others

	Harming Self		Harming Others
	Hurting	Causing Death	Hurting	Causing Death
Accidental	What if someone accidentally stabs me with a screwdriver?	What if my food is poisoned by mistake?	What if my dad gets into an accident and breaks a leg?	What if my dad gets into an accident and dies?
Deliberate	What if my friends are planning to hurt me?	What if my friends are planning to kill me?	What if my manager wants to harm my girlfriend?	What if my best friend wants to kill my cat?

Based on your own experiences, classify your obsessions under these sixteen dimensions in Worksheet 3.6 provided below.