the constant fear:

Tom's day usually starts at 5am. He feels exhausted, as he's been worrying most of the night. He gets up quickly to avoid being delayed by his ritual otherwise she will start to panic that he will be late.

just the start

This is just the start to Tom's day; His behaviour continues in a similar pattern throughout the day until he pauses briefly to sleep at 1am. Tom has significant symptoms of OCD and like him there are millions of people in the world who, knowingly or not, are affected by the different behaviours of OCD.