Best Way to Learn About Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

 

                  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

In our everyday life we sometimes meet people who might have a habit to wash his/her hand repeatedly many times after touching something dirty. Or some people keep everything in a certain order or a fixed number.

These people’s habit is not common like other people. Because their habits are mainly beyond their control, they don’t enjoy doing and it interferes with other work of their life. These people are suffering from OCD.

Every people have some habits that repeat sometimes. But people suffering OCD are different. So in today’s post we will learn some basic information about OCD.

Today we will learn

• Definition
• Causes
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis
• Some OCD related conditions and
• Treatment

Without talking too much let’s start our topics.

 

Definition

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is mainly a mental illness. It cause great distress and impairs daily life functioning. OCD is a kind of disorder in which people have unwanted and recurring thoughts, ideas or feelings which make them feel driven to do something repeatedly.

In this there are two parts one is obsessions and another is compulsions. Obsessions are actually some thoughts or ideas that can be like worrying about own or other; doubt the partner with no reason, disturbing sexual thoughts and fear of losing something etc.

Compulsive habits can include doing tasks in a specific order or washing hand more and checking locks etc. This can affect anyone like men women and children also. It usually starts in early adulthood but some people get this in puberty.

 

Causes

Actually psychologists didn’t find the exact cause of why some people develop OCD. Any kind of stress can make this disorder worse. And it is found more in female than male.

Some factors are believed to be the causes of OCD. These are

1. Sometimes family history can play a role in this. If a family member is suffering from OCD then there is a possibility that you can develop this because of your genes.
2. People who are suffering from this have areas in brain which is unusually high activity or low levels of a chemical called serotonin.
3. Personality also plays a role in developing OCD.
4. Some life events like experience with trauma, history of physical or sexual abuse in the childhood also included.
5. Anxiety and depression also play a role.

 

Symptoms

If anyone is suffering from OCD then he or she is going to have some symptoms. Some common symptoms of OCD are given below

   Obsessions

People who have obsessions are quite aware that their thoughts are excessive. And obsessions mainly take form like obsessive wishes (repeated wishes that one’s friend would die), impulses (repeated urges to do something bad in the work place), images (forbidden sexual scenes), ideas (thought that there is dirt in everywhere) and doubts (that one will do wrong things) etc. The most common among all these is dirt or contamination.

   Compulsions

Compulsion is mainly related to obsessive thoughts. And it is also under people’s voluntary control but they little can control them. After performing the compulsive act they feel little anxious for a short time. Compulsions can also take some form like cleaning (always try to clean themselves, house, clothes etc), checking (check the same items over and over-gas, locks), order or valance (keep place items in a certain order and follow a strict rules) etc.

 

Diagnosis

If you are getting the symptoms of OCD, then you should go to take the help of a professional. So you may have to do some physical checkup to make sure that your symptoms are not from some others illness. They will talk about your thoughts, feelings, habits, family history and many more for giving you the best treatment.

 

OCD-Related Conditions

There are some other conditions which are similar to Obsessive-compulsive disorder. According to DSM-5, there are 4 patterns. They are

1. Hoarding disorder

In this kind of disorder people feel compelled to save items. And if they try to discard them they feel distressed.

 2.Trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder)

it is a disorder in which people pull out their hair from eyebrows, scalp, eyelashes and other parts of the body repeatedly.

  3. Excortiation (skin-peaking disorder)

In this kind of disorder people repeatedly pick at their skin and make significant wounds and sores in their body.

  4. Body dysmorphic disorder

It is disorder in which people have a belief that they have flaws or defects in their physical appearances. But this defects and flaws are imaginary.

 

Treatment

There is no cure for OCD. But you can manage how your symptoms can affect your life by taking treatment. Treatment can involve both psychotherapy and medication.

Psychotherapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help a person who is suffering from OCD by facing its fears and obsessive thoughts without putting them right through compulsions. Psycho-education also helps.

Medication

Antidepressants drug called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) can help by altering the balance of chemicals in the brain. But it should be prescribed by professional only.

By doing some self-care we can make our life good. Like taking some good food, doing some yoga, meditation, walking in the park, doing something interesting and try to celebrate victories can help.

So this was all about the basic information about Obsessive compulsive disorder. Let’s hope that we all will try to live a healthy life for a better life.

 

References

American Psychiatric Association (APA), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5(5 ed).Washington: American Psychiatric Publishing (2013).