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Coronavirus: A trigger for OCD and illness anxiety disorder?

Authors: Rivera RM, Carballea D
Journal: Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy
Adult Anxiety Disorders COVID-19 Coronavirus Infections Humans Hypochondriasis Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Pandemics Pneumonia, Viral

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic possesses challenges for individuals with preexisting mental health conditions, such as those with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Illness Anxiety Disorder. Amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, sanitary precautions have become encouraged. Mental health practitioners need to examine how the normalization of these practices may become triggers and reinforcements for obsessive thinking and compulsive behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).