An 18-year-old male had a severe dislike for touching door knobs. He feared contamination and spent hours washing his hands if he had to open a door at his office. He spent more than 3-4 hours taking a shower and spent a lot of time cleaning surfaces after ”incidental contaminations”. Eventually, he stopped waking up in the morning as it was not worth the effort. Identify the disorder he is suffering from:

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

The correct option is Obsessive-Compulsive and Related disorders.

Explanation:

The clinical scenario described in the question highlights several key symptoms that align with Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders (specifically Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD):

1. Obsessions (Intrusive thoughts/fears): The individual experiences a severe, persistent fear of contamination, specifically triggered by everyday objects like door knobs.

2. Compulsions (Repetitive behaviors): To alleviate the anxiety caused by his fear of contamination, he engages in excessive and time-consuming rituals, such as washing his hands for hours, showering for 3 to 4 hours, and extensively cleaning surfaces after "incidental contaminations."

3. Significant Impairment: The symptoms are highly distressing and consume a vast portion of his day (exceeding the typical diagnostic threshold of 1 hour per day). The rituals have become so exhausting and debilitating that he has stopped waking up in the morning to avoid the effort of performing them, indicating a profound disruption in his occupational and daily functioning.

Therefore, the pattern of intrusive fears of contamination combined with compulsive cleaning rituals directly points to Obsessive-Compulsive and Related disorders.