Can OCD Go Away with Age?
By Justin La Rose, RP, M.Psy · Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO) · Clinical Director, The OCD Clinic
Evidence last reviewed: October 2026
OCD doesn’t reliably go away with age on its own. It tends to wax and wane across a lifetime, louder in stressful periods and quieter in stable ones, rather than burning out as you get older. Age alone doesn’t teach you to respond differently to your thoughts, and that response is the thing treatment actually works on.
The short answer
- Over 40 years: In a 40-year follow-up of people hospitalised for OCD, 83% improved but 48% recovered, and 48% had OCD for more than 30 years, according to Skoog and Skoog (1999).
- Childhood OCD: OCD that started in childhood or adolescence was still present in 41% of young people at follow-up, and a longer illness before assessment predicted persistence, in a study by Micali et al. (2010).
- Years lost to waiting: The gap between first symptoms and treatment can reach around 10 years in adults, according to a review by Fineberg et al. (2019).
- In my practice: What you do when the thought shows up can be practised at any age, and that response is what ERP works on.
Does OCD change as you get older?
Yes, the shape changes even when the disorder stays. The theme can shift, the rituals can move from your hands into your head, and life keeps handing OCD new material. Here’s what tends to keep it going at each stage:
- Childhood: OCD can change shape as a child grows, and families end up helping with rituals without meaning to.
- Adulthood: new responsibilities, work, parenting and health can keep OCD active or reignite it, and partners get pulled in too (see couples therapy for OCD).
- Later life: OCD is often under-recognised, dismissed as just getting more particular, when it’s a treatable disorder.
For when it tends to begin, see what age OCD usually starts covers the two common windows.
Why doesn’t time fix it on its own?
Because time never tests the fear. Years of compulsions harden into automatic habits, and years of avoidance quietly shrink a life. Waiting to grow out of OCD is like waiting to get stronger without ever going to the gym. Even the popular 15 minute rule can turn waiting into its own ritual. What changes the course is practice: Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), where you face the thought, drop the ritual and learn you can carry the uncertainty. If OCD already takes hours of your day, see how to tell if OCD is severe.
Frequently asked questions
Does childhood OCD go away in adulthood?
Sometimes, but not reliably. In Micali’s 2010 follow-up of children and teens, OCD was still present in 41%, and the longer it had gone on before assessment, the more likely it was to stick. Waiting to see is a gamble.
Can OCD come back after a quiet stretch?
Yes. Because OCD waxes and wanes, a quiet year isn’t the same as recovery, and stress can wake it up again. In one trial, 12 weeks after treatment stopped, relapse was 12% after ERP, with or without medication, compared with 45% after the medication clomipramine alone (Simpson, 2004).
Is it too late to start ERP later in life?
Age alone isn’t a reason to rule out ERP. I have seen people in their sixties and seventies respond to Exposure and Response Prevention just as well as people in their twenties. The skill is the same at any age: learning you can carry the uncertainty without the ritual.
What should you read next?
If you're experiencing these symptoms, evidence-based treatment can help. We treat OCD, and only OCD, with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
Book a Free ConsultationHow we researched this page
This page draws on a 40-year follow-up of people hospitalised for OCD (Skoog and Skoog, 1999), a follow-up of children and teens (Micali et al., 2010), a review of untreated illness (Fineberg et al., 2019) and a relapse trial (Simpson et al., 2004), alongside what I see in my own practice. The 40-year study followed hospitalised patients, mostly before modern treatment existed, so it describes a more severe group than most people reading this, and the relapse figures cover only 12 weeks after treatment.
A note on my perspective
I run a private clinic that treats OCD with ERP, and I'm paid when people book with us. Read what I write with that in mind. Public and lower-cost routes exist too, and the Ontario OCD treatment guide lays them out next to ours.
About the author
Justin La Rose, RP, M.Psy is a Registered Psychotherapist with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) and Clinical Director of The OCD Clinic in Toronto. He has worked in mental health for more than 25 years and treats OCD with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). You can confirm his registration on the CRPO public register.
Client stories on this site are composites, with names and identifying details changed. How we write client stories
How to cite this page
La Rose, J. (2026). Can OCD Go Away with Age?. The OCD Clinic. https://theocdclinic.ca/ocd-faq/can-ocd-go-away-with-age