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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

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Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a common chronic disorder in which a person has uncontrollable and recurrent thoughts and behaviors that he or she feels the urge to repeat. OCD often centers on things such as a fear of germs or the need to arrange objects in a specific manner. Symptoms normally start off gradually and vary throughout life. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is described to have appeared since the early seventeenth century. There are more than 200,000 cases in the US of people with OCD per year. The most common age range of people affected by OCD ranges from 6-60 years old. OCD commonly affects adults, adolescents, and children all over the world. Most people tend to be diagnosed by the age of 19. The typical age for boys is 9 and …show more content…

To briefly help understand and know what both obsessions and compulsions are, examples of real situations and factors are beneficial. Obsessing and being obsessed are commonly used everyday words. However, obsession is even more serious. Obsession considers repeated thoughts, urges, or mental images that cause anxiety. The most common symptoms of obsession include fear of germs or contamination; unwanted thoughts sexually related, religious, and harmful; aggressive thoughts towards others or self; loss of control; and having possessions in a perfect order. Furthermore, compulsions are repetitive behaviors a person with OCD feels the urge to respond to in response to an obsessive thought. The common examples of compulsions include excessive cleaning and washing their hands; ordering and arranging objects in a particular way; repeatedly checking on their surroundings; or counting. Not all habits are relatively compulsions. However, a person with OCD generally cannot control his or her thoughts or behaviors, even when those thoughts or behaviors are recognized as being excessive. People with OCD tend to spend at least an hour a day on thoughts or behaviors; they do not show pleasure when performing the behaviors or habits, but they feel relief from the anxiety the thoughts have caused; and they experience important problems in their daily lives due to the thoughts or behaviors. There are individuals with OCD that also have a tic …show more content…

However, patients respond to treatment, while some patients continue to experience symptoms. Sometimes people with OCD also have other mental disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphic disorder, which is a disorder in which someone mistakenly believes that a part of their body is possibly abnormal. The treatments include talk therapy, medications, etc. The medications are Clomipramine, Fluoxetine, Fluvoxamine, Sertraline, and Risperidone. The brain structure becomes affected. Therapy can help identify personality patterns. Psychotherapy appears helpful in identifying personality characteristics or patterns of behavior that tend to get in the way of developing good coping strategies or takes advantage of treatment. Furthermore, there are clinical psychologists that are trained in personality assessments to

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