Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or better known as OCD is a common, long-lasting, and
chronic mental disorder. OCD is often misunderstood and used incorrectly by people who don’t
suffer from it. A person with OCD has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and
behaviors (compulsions) that the person feels a need to do over and over. People with OCD
may know that their thoughts and behaviors don’t make sense, but are unable to control them.
Symptoms usually begin during childhood, teenage years and young adulthood, with
males often developing them at a younger age than females. More than 2% of the U.S
population will be diagnosed with OCD during their lifetimes. That’s nearly 1 out of 40 people
with OCD. Symptoms of OCD can be obsessions, compulsions, or both. They can interfere with
all aspects of life like work, school, and personal relationships. Most people have occasional
obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviors, but a person with OCD with have symptoms for
more than an hour a day.
Obsessions are repeated thoughts, urges, or mental
images that cause anxiety.
Some examples of obsessions include:
Fear of germs or contamination
Unwanted or taboo thoughts involving sex,
religion, and harm
Aggressive thoughts towards others
Doubts about having something right
Compulsions are repetitive behaviors that a person
feels to do in response to an obsession.
Some compulsions that people with OCD experience
include:
Excessive cleaning and/or hand washing
Ordering and arranging things in a particular, precise way
Constantly checking things
and compulsive counting
Some cases of OCD have a tic disorder. Motor tics are sudden, brief, and repetitive
movements that a person may experience.
The exact cause of OCD is unknown. Researchers believe however that activity in several
portions of the brain is responsible. Genetics are thought to also be a cause. Having a parent or
sibling with the disorder gives a 25% chance that another immediate family member will have
it, but people who have experienced abuse in their childhood or other trauma also have an
increased chance of developing OCD.
Types of help for OCD are Medication especially a type of antidepressant called selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) is helpful for many people to reduce symptoms.
Psychotherapy is another treatment that is helpful in relieving OCD related symptoms.
Particular cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and exposure and response therapy (ERT) are
different therapies that are used to treat this. Exposure response prevention therapy helps a
person manage the anxiety associated with obsessive thoughts. Treatment plans will often
include both psychotherapy and medications.
Though OCD cannot be cured it can treated effectively making it important for those
who think that they may have it to get help from
others.
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compulsive-disorder-ocd/[Link]
[Link]
Conditions/Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder
