When a child or adult in the family begins washing repeatedly, checking locks several times before bed, or getting stuck in upsetting thoughts they cannot shake off, families often turn the question inward. Was it something at home? Was the child raised too strictly? Did the parents miss the signs?These questions are understandable, but they can also bring a great deal of unnecessary guilt. OCD is not caused by poor parenting, lack of discipline, or a person being “too weak” to control their mind. The picture is more complex. Genes can play a role, but so can life experiences and stress.Researchers have known for some time that OCD tends to run in some families. Twin studies have offered some of the clearest evidence. When one identical twin has OCD, the other twin is more likely to have it. Across several studies, genetics is estimated to account for around 40 to 50 percent of a person’s vulnerability to OCD.A 2026 study sequenced the DNA of almost 4,000 people. It zeroed in on the sections that actually build proteins. Out of that, researchers pinned down 36 genes connected to a sharply higher chance of developing OCD or a chronic tic disorder.That doesn’t mean a doctor can order a blood test and tell someone whether OCD is coming their way. Nothing close to that exists yet, and it’s probably a long way off. What the study does back up is something therapists have said for years, but without having much hard proof behind it. OCD comes out of how the brain is built and not a weakness in someone’s personality.A few of the gene variants stood out for how much risk they carried. People with certain rare, damaging mutations turned out to be, on average, 57 times more likely to end up with OCD or a tic disorder, and a few of these mutations pushed the odds even further. Still, these are rare mutations we’re talking about. They tell a strong story for a small slice of cases, but they’re nowhere near a full explanation for most people who live with OCD.In Indian homes, the early signs can slip by unnoticed more easily than elsewhere. A child who cleans obsessively gets called well-behaved. Someone who checks the gas knob three times before leaving gets called responsible. Repeating a prayer, bathing again after touching something, or avoiding certain objects gets folded into devotion or family custom.
When OCD shows up in adulthood
Not everyone with OCD has a family history or childhood symptoms. Shalini Sharma, a 32-year-old science student from India, is one example. Her OCD became prominent in 2022 while she was working with data points and scientific models. What began as repeated checking gradually became a cycle of compulsive rechecking, racing thoughts, panic and an overwhelming need to be certain that everything was correct.The experience began affecting both her work and her personal life. Medication prescribed abroad had not given her the relief she was looking for, and after months of struggling she returned to India, where she eventually began exposure-based therapy.Shalini describes being introduced to an approach that helped her understand OCD as a problem in the way the mind interprets and responds to thoughts, rather than as evidence that something was fundamentally wrong with her. She says that within the first two weeks, she began experiencing a sense of relief and acceptance that she had not felt in years.Her story is useful in understanding what the genetic research does and does not tell us. There was no single moment when a gene suddenly “caused” her OCD. Instead, her experience illustrates how complex the condition can be, with psychological patterns, circumstances and individual vulnerability interacting over time.Nobody with OCD does these rituals because they want to. Mostly it is about pushing down a wave of anxiety or stopping something bad they think will happen. Maybe they are just getting rid of a nagging sense that something’s off.The point of the genetic research is not to find ‘the gene’ for any one family. Its bigger use is quieter than that: it takes some of the blame out of the room.Someone dealing with OCD isn’t failing to try hard enough. What actually helps is someone listening properly, getting a real assessment done. They are starting treatment early, before the condition begins to run the day. Cognitive behavioural therapy, and exposure and response prevention in particular, teach a person to sit with a feared thought without acting on it, and that is what loosens the cycle over time.Shyam Gupta, Founder & OCD Specialist, Emotion of Life
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