Persistent, unwanted thoughts or the state of being completely focused on or preoccupied with something.
From Latin 'obsessio,' meaning a besieging or blockade, from 'obsidere' (to sit before, besiege). The metaphor shifted from military siege to the mind being 'besieged' by repetitive thoughts.
The word literally means to 'sit before' or besiege—when you're obsessed, your thoughts are like an army camped outside the walls of your mind, refusing to leave. Psychologists now recognize obsessive thinking as a specific brain pattern that responds to certain treatments.
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