I have been dealing with
OCD for years, and I have found that
cognitive behavioral therapy can be immensely helpful, reducing the symptoms of OCD by over 50% in under a year, in my case, with no
chemical intervention (and no side effects). All this method requires is to be able to make the
realization that you have a disorder, and the determination to combat the obesessions and compulsions alike.
An example of this theory: Say you have a compulsion consisting of tapping the mouse button - not clicking, just tapping it - a certain number of times. This compulsion is an OCD ritual, designed to prevent you from thinking about the obsession (if I click the mouse, then my parents won't get into an accident, and I don't have to worry about it). By refusing to obey the compulsion (i.e. not tapping a certain number of times), you are forced to come face-to-face with the obesessive thought. While you may not be able to to deal with the anxiety immediately, and may have to resort back to the compulsion on the first few tries, over time you will become desensitized to the obession and stop obsessing about it, in which case the compulsion is no longer necessary.
Studies have shown that brain scans of individuals with OCD who have undergone this type of therapy show similar improvements to those treated with medication, and in some cases even more so.