obsession
n. a persistent thought, idea, image, or impulse that is experienced as intrusive or inappropriate and results in marked anxiety, distress, or discomfort. Obsessions are often described as ego-dystonic in that they are experienced as alien or inconsistent with one’s self and outside one’s control (though this is not necessarily the case in children). Common obsessions include repeated thoughts about contamination, a need to have things in a particular order or sequence, repeated doubts, aggressive or horrific impulses, and sexual imagery. Obsessions can be distinguished from excessive worries about everyday occurrences in that they are not concerned with real-life problems. The response to an obsession is often an effort to ignore or suppress the thought or impulse or to neutralize it by a compulsion. See obsessive-compulsive disorder. —obsessional
adj.
—obsessive
adj.