A known friend spends a long time at the wash basin washing his hands. The same friend checks his lock many times if it is properly locked or not. And another kind is, he imagines that he is suffering from some ailment, though the doctor says, he's not having any diseases/.These are behavioral abnormalities. A doctor/ psychologist should be consulted before jumping to conclusions.
All these symptoms are part of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. But as you rightly mentioned you cannot jump to a conclusion without consulting a doctor/ psychiatrist.
The differences between each ailment are subtle. Commoner cannot detect them. Self medication and self diagnosis are dangerous.
It is much more complicated and difficult to diagnose a mental disorder since the difference between what is normal and what is abnormal is very flimsy ...like for example a very clean and tidy person might like to wash his or her hands several times , so how many times is normal ? and how many times isn't normal , is difficult to assess. A combination of several such abnormal behavioral patterns coming together may be an indicative of mental disorder, but again that should be concluded by a psychiatrist and not a layman..
Pay no mind to those who talk behind your back, it simply means that you are two steps ahead !!!
