Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Some people are neater and more organized by nature. These traits can be beneficial in a variety of circumstances, both at work and at home.

With obsessive-compulsive disorder, these characteristics may be extreme and disruptive. Hours can be spent cleaning, organizing, checking, and ordering by obsessive-compulsive people to the point where it interferes with their daily life.

Obsessions can be constant, meaningless thoughts, images, or concepts that enter your mind. You may try to repress these ideas and anxieties because you believe they are unreasonable.

However, they might keep bothering you for several hours, days, weeks, or even longer. There is more to these sights and ideas than merely excessive worry about everyday problems. They frequently have nothing to do with actual situations.

Compulsions are repetitive actions and routines used to calm anxious feelings brought on by intrusive thoughts. You might continually wash your hands to ease your concern of contracting an infection, repeatedly check the stove to ensure it is off, and continuously check your rearview mirror while driving to ease your worry about hitting someone.

You may not understand the need for these rituals, but you feel the need to manage your anxiety. It might be challenging to balance the want to perform compulsive rituals with your desire to stop doing them. Anxiety, guilt, and even despair may result from this. You might ultimately quit fighting your compulsions and fully give over to them.

Obsessions can happen by themselves or in conjunction with compulsions. Obsessions are present in about 20% of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. These are sometimes brought on by worries about hurting loved ones or having disturbing sexual ideas.

The most common compulsions are washing, counting, and checking. If you wash clothes, contamination is a constant worry. Do not shake hands, touch doorknobs, or come into contact with anything that might be contaminated with bacteria, filth, or toxins.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression are frequently linked. Depression is often accompanied by varying obsessions. Avoidance of phobias is a typical sign of this condition.

For instance, a phobia may develop if a person repeatedly touches doorknobs or steers clear of public restrooms. Avoidance can occasionally interfere with a person’s ability to operate in a social or professional environment.

It’s critical to keep in mind that having OCD does not imply you are insane. You are angry and depressed over your failure to regulate your thoughts and acts since you can see their ridiculousness and senselessness.

The diseases of compulsive behaviors like overeating and gambling are different from obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD sufferers do not wish to do their compulsions or receive any pleasure from them. However, people with compulsive behavior disorders may find some enjoyment in their compulsive activities.

Once upon a time, the obsessive-compulsive disorder was thought to be a rare condition. Obsessive-compulsive disorder may impact 2 to 3 percent of the population, according to recent studies.

The occurrence rates have been overestimated since most individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder have been unwilling to discuss their issues with others.

Both men and women appear to be equally impacted by the condition. Although the obsessive-compulsive disorder can appear at any age, the majority of cases start in early infancy. Males are more prone than females to exhibit symptoms.

Causes of Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Multiple parts of the brain are active in obsessive-compulsive disorder, according to researchers. But the precise reason is still a mystery. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter that nerve cells use to communicate, might not have an effect on some parts of the brain.

• OCD can be caused by genetic and/or hereditary factors.
• The death of a loved one or another emotional trauma.
• Compulsions can be learned behaviors that become habitual and repetitive when they are linked to anxiety relief.
• The cause is chemical, structural, and functional abnormalities of the brain.
• Changes in your living situation such as moving, divorce or marriage, or the start of a new school or career.
• OCD symptoms can be worsened by distortions of beliefs.

Treatments for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Relaxation Training

Like all anxiety disorders, deep relaxation and abdominal breathing are both practiced daily to reduce anxiety symptoms.

Cognitive Therapy

Obsession-related fears, superstitions, or guilty thoughts are identified, addressed, and replaced. For instance, the belief that “If I have a thought of harming my child, I might act on it” is changed to “The notion of harming is just ‘random noise’ created by the OCD.” It means nothing at all. I’m not going to do anything just because I thought about it.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)

This entails being exposed to circumstances that can set off obsessions while also being restrained from engaging in ritualistic behavior.

For instance, you might be requested to cease touching doorknobs if you’ve been doing it five times each day. When you leave the house, you would also be requested to decrease the number of doorknobs you touch five times every day.

You’ll likely develop a variety of scenarios with your therapist in your house. After that, you’ll practice regularly placing yourself in these circumstances and stop engaging in compulsions. Usually, a therapist or other support person will go with you to make sure you don’t break any compulsions.

Medication

About 60 to 70 percent of people with OCD benefit from drugs like Anafranil and SSRIs like Prozac, Luvox, Lexapro, Cymbalta, and Zoloft.

With OCD, long-term pharmaceutical use is fairly common, while in some circumstances the cognitive and exposure/response preventive techniques mentioned above may be sufficient.

For OCD, SSRI dosages are typically greater than for other anxiety disorders, and benefits from these drugs typically take two to three months to manifest at higher levels.

Some patients with OCD have been found to benefit from low dosages of antipsychotic drugs like Zyprexa and Resperdal, indicating that dopamine receptors play a role in some of the brain mechanisms causing OCD.

Personality and Lifestyle Changes

These adjustments resemble those made for panic disorder. They consist of more downtime, consistent exercise, and a reduction in sweets and stimulants. Resolving interpersonal disputes and changing attitudes toward control, perfection, or an obsessive need for approval from others.