Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Imagine if you couldn’t get your job done because throughout your shift you had to continuously wash your hands. To many people this would be an easy problem but not if you have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Several little thoughts or rituals irritate a person with OCD daily. There are many factors, symptoms, and treatments regarding OCD.
OCD is known as one of the anxieties disorders (geocities). It can be a crippling condition that can persist throughout a person’s life (geocities). Someone who suffers from OCD can become trapped in a pattern of repetitive thoughts and behaviors that are senseless and distressing but very difficult to overcome (geocities). OCD is linked to a kind of “short-circuit” in the way the brain processes worry thoughts (kids health). People with OCD have obsessions and compulsions.
Obsession is defined as a compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or unwanted emotion (American Heritage). “Obsessions lead to anxiety (kids health).” To relieve their anxiety people will perform compulsions. Compulsion is defined as an irresistible impulse to act (American Heritage). An example of this would be someone who feels dirty may wash their hands 100 times a day (kids health). “In the United States, more than one million children this disorder (kids health).
No one knows for sure exactly what causes OCD (kids health). However, OCD and related disorders do run in families (kids health). Scientists have not found what is passed on to make a person more prone to have OCD (kids health). Scientists believe it could be a communication problem with the front of the brain and other parts that use neurotransmitters (kids health). Though the cause is not known there are numerous symptoms for OCD.
OCD symptoms normally will start to show during teenage years or early adulthood (geocities). The person will start to continuously experience disturbing thoughts such as: “My hands are contaminated, I must wash them;” “I may have left the gas on;” or “I am going to injure my child” (geocities). “These thoughts are intrusive, unpleasant, and produce a high degree of anxiety” (geocities). The most common compulsions are washing and checking (geocities).
Dr. Ian Osborne tells an account of a man who had fears that his hands were infected (11). This man repeatedly washed and scrubbed his hands until they bled (Osborne 11). Dr. Osborne also notes a college female who couldn’t stop bombarding herself with questions (23).