Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ( Ocd )

Obsessive-Compulsive disorder is a type of severe anxiety disorder that impacts an individual’s entire life and way of functioning. Obsessions are considered intrusive and recurrent thoughts or impulses that cannot be removed through reasoning. Compulsions are the repetitive and ritualistic behaviors and actions that associate with the obsessions. These compulsions are to be performed according to specific rules or methods and are thought to prevent or reduce stress and feared situations. Both compulsions and obsessions cause disabling levels of anxiety. The individual affected is often able to recognize the behavior as excessive and irrational, but is unable to control or stop the behaviors without intervention.

Always washing your hands? Or perhaps you are always counting things or checking things. Are these actions taking over your life or constantly occupying your mind? Perhaps you have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). It was once thought that OCD was rare; however, recently it has been found that 2-3% (or 7 million Americans) of people have OCD. People with OCD are usually diagnosed by between the ages of 20 and 30, and about 75% of those who will develop OCD will show symptoms by age 30. (1) This leads to a couple questions that need to be answered: What is OCD? What causes it, and what is the most effective treatment? These questions will be answered throughout the paper.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) was once considered a rare disease, but today, it is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders present among society. OCD is described as “intrusive thoughts or images (obsessions), which increase anxiety, and by repetitive or ritualistic actions (compulsions), which decrease anxiety” (Stein, 2002). In the DSM-IV, Obsessive compulsive disorder can be diagnosed through observable behaviours or repetitive mental habits. Symptoms include; the constant washing of hands, and/or fears concerning danger to others or to self – resulting in frequent paranoia. OCD has been linked with lesions in various neurological circuits of the brain due to the consumption of dopamine agonists (for example, cocaine). In order for obsessive compulsive disorder to take clinical significance, dysfunction and distress must follow symptoms. The treatment of OCD was initially developed in the Freudian era, as psychoanalytical treatment was seen as the most effective treatment at the time for mind management. Conversely, recent empirical evidence proved otherwise. Pharmacological therapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy, also known as systematic desensitization are nowadays the most prominent remedies used in treating obsessive compulsive disorder.

Considering the secrecy surrounding OCD symptoms, it is important for family members to pay attention to early signs of ritualistic behaviors becoming troublesome. When OCD is suspected, a comprehensive clinical evaluation – including detailed interviews with parents and, if possible teachers – is required in order to check the obsessions, sensory phenomenon and compulsions in the case. In younger children, OCD features might appear subtly during play activities or drawing. It is vital to differentiate between obsessive compulsive symptoms and normal childhood behavior, such as the normal practice or actions during playtime, food time or bedtime. In this context, the information about degree of distress, impairment and time consumed performing rituals should provide enough data to decide whether or not treatment is warranted. Moreover, it is also important to assess insight and the family’s perception of the symptoms, as well as how family members deal with the patient.

According to psych central website’s article, OCD is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent and disturbing thoughts (called obsessions) and/or repetitive, ritualized behaviors that the person feels driven to perform (called compulsions).

Obsessive compulsion disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder described by irrational thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive tasks (compulsions) (Obsessive Compulsion Disorder, 2013). When a person has obsessive-compulsive disorder, they may realize that their obsessions aren't accurate, and they may try to overlook them but that only increases their suffering and worry. Eventually, you feel driven to perform compulsive acts to ease your stressful feelings. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is often driven by a reason, cause, or fear for example, a fear of germs. To calm the feeling of this fear, a person may compulsively wash their hands until they're sore and chapped. Despite their efforts, thoughts of obsessive-compulsive behavior keep coming back. This leads to more ritualistic behavior and a brutal cycle of obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD is the fourth most common mental disorder, and is diagnosed nearly as often as asthma and diabetes (Who We Are, 2012). In the United States, one in 50 adults suffers from OCD. Obsessive compulsive disorder affects children, adolescents, and adults. About one third to one half of adults with OCD report a childhood onset of the disorder, they felt these anxieties but were not diagnosed or felt no need to be diagnosed until the compulsions over whelmed them (Who We Are, 2012). The phrase obsessive compulsive has been used to describe excessively meticulous, perfectionistic, absorbed, or otherwise fixated person. While

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

To live with OCD, is to live in fear. People with OCD tend to need things to be in a certain order. If anything is misplaced or if they do something in a different order, they feel as though their day is ruined. They either need to correct their mistake or do everything over again. People with OCD have the same tasks to do every day. For example, if they get out of bed they need to get out on the same side and put the same foot down as they do every day. If by chance they get out on the wrong side, they will get back in bed just to get out again on the “correct” side. People with OCD tend to do things in a longer period of time. They usually repeat things multiple times until they feel as though they are satisfied. For example, if they

Obsessions are unwanted ideas or impulses that repeatedly well up in the mind of a person with OCD. These are thoughts and ideas that the sufferer cannot stop thinking about. A sufferer will almost always obsess over something which he or she is most afraid of. Common ideas include persistent fears that harm may come to self or a loved one, an unreasonable concern with becoming contaminated, or an excessive need to do things correctly or perfectly. Again and again, the individual experiences a disturbing thought, such as, "My hands may be contaminated -- I must wash them" or "I may have left the gas on" or "I am going to injure my child." These thoughts tend to be intrusive, unpleasant, and produce a high degree of anxiety. Sometimes the obsessions are of a violent or a sexual nature, or concern illness. People with OCD who obsess over hurting themselves or others are actually less likely to do so than the average person. Obsessions are typically automatic, frequent, distressing, and difficult to control or put an end to by themselves. With these reoccurring obsessions continuously being played in the sufferers mind, they start performing repetitive acts that reassure them that their hands aren’t dirty, or the gas for the stove is turned of. This response to their obsession is called a compulsion.

Intrusive thoughts are also one of the more common types of obsessions. Intrusive thoughts are personally unacceptable thoughts that involuntary appear in the mind- thoughts about religion, sexual acts or urges, unintentionally harming a loved one, impulsively doing something dangerous, or harming one’s self, just to name a few. Although most people experience intrusive thoughts every now and then, those with OCD are unable to dismiss them like neurotypicals can, which makes the thoughts omnipresent. This can cause the person a great deal of stress, and also cause them to question their morals (i.e. ‘If I were a good person I wouldn’t have these thoughts, so therefore I am not a good

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder that causes someone to have unwanted and troubling thoughts and repetitive behaviors (Lack, 2012). People may self-diagnose themselves to be obsessive compulsive. But people with obsessive compulsive disorder need to spend at least 1 hour daily on obsessive thoughts and rituals (Ellyson, 2014). This disorder is broken into two parts. The first part is obsessions, thoughts or images, and the second part is compulsions, the repetitive behaviors caused by the obsessions (Brakoulias, 2015). An example of obsessive compulsive disorder would be someone checking the locked door multiple times to reduce anxiety about forgetting to lock the door. On average 5% of the population has subclinical symptoms which are considered to be symptoms that are not disruptive enough to meet criteria to be diagnosed obsessive compulsive (Lack, 2012). Dropping what you’re doing to go back and check if your curling iron is unplugged is an example of a subclinical symptom. This paper will discuss what obsessive compulsive disorder is and provide a brief history. It will also include current treatments, suggestions on how to treat the disorder, and a summary.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a psychological disorder where patients are plagued with repeated obsessions or compulsions or, most commonly, both. The exact cause of OCD has not been known yet, but it is significantly common among relatives. Although there is no cure for it, detecting it early and treating it properly can help in the majority of cases. OCD affects all aspects of individuals’ lives and sometimes could lead to a sever depression. In addition, A study was conducted regarding the prevalence of OCD has estimated that OCD is the “fourth most common mental illness after phobias, substance abuse, and major depression.” Moreover,

Obsessive compulsive disorder also known as OCD, is an anxiety disorder. People who have this disorder have repetitive thoughts and behaviors that they cannot control. A chemical imbalance of the neurotransmitter serotonin throws off communication in the brain. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (2015), it can also cause impulses that manifest through obsessions, ideas, and images. The next part of this disorder is compulsions. These are the behaviors that people who have this disorder perform in order to get rid of the uncontrollable thoughts and feelings.

Knowing what OCD is the first step in understanding the psychology of the disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over” (NIMH). The obsessive part of OCD is intrusive, repetitive thoughts the cause anxiety, and the compulsion part is the need to perform an act or ritual repeatedly. The obsession causes anxiety and the compulsion relieves the anxiety.

People generally appreciate the sight of a clean desk, or a good system to keep files tabbed and organized in a given space. Of course, there are those who believe they work more efficiently in a cluttered area, or claim to remember where an object was placed but now cannot seem to find it. However, once organization, daily ‘rituals’, or the unbearable urge to adjust something comes into play, Psychology describes this as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) or also referred to as Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD). The mental strains inside a person with OCD or OCPD can become psychologically dangerous for relationships or quality of life for that person if the disorder gets out of hand. Individuals with OCPD attempt to maintain