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Dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive compulsive disorder and how behavioral theory explains it
Dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder
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How do you view obsessive?. Logical? Alarming? Or inexperienced with the word? Maybe one of the many ways you’ve heard it used in everyday life comes to mind. Someone referring to their favorite song or food. Perhaps you get a creepy feeling when you hear the word, because we know being obsessed with one specific thing or person can be alarming and unhealthy. I think many can agree it’s not the warmest word, but It’s not the most frightening word either. Although it’s the way it’s most often used obsession does not always refer to being obsessed with a person or a specific item. Personally, obsessive has been a lifestyle. Many times I’ve been told to stop obsessing over something, but for a long time I couldn’t honestly comprehend my obsessive
Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD) - is characterized by persistent, uncontrollable and unwanted feelings or thoughts (obsessions) and routines or rituals (compulsions) in which individuals engage to try to prevent or rid themselves of these thoughts. In example of common compulsions include washing hands or cleaning repeatedly for fear of germs.
OCD is broken down into two components the obsession and the compulsion. The first component; obsession is when an individual is consistently having these reoccurring thoughts or images about a certain problem or issue in their life. For example; an individual that has OCD can have a constant thought or image about getting sick or dying from the various germs or diseases that people contract every day. So this individual goes to the extreme to make sure that they do not contract any of these germs or diseases. That is when the compulsive component begins. This is when the individual takes these extreme actions to protect themselves from whatever they have these high anxiety feelings about. So continuing using the same example; this individual will consistently clean their homes every day for several hours at a time. They tend to clean their hands several times when out in public and are very tedious about where they go and what they touch while in public. They are also very caution about how they interact with other people. They just take extra steps to protect themsel...
Hoarding may appear in a variety of forms, including Clinical Compulsive Hoarding, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or ‘perfectionist’ hoarding, and Animal Hoarding. Clinical Compulsive Hoarding proves to be the most common type (Defining Compulsive Hoarding). Similar to many other addictions, a compulsive hoarder’s addiction exists both figuratively and literally behind closed doors. Merriam-Webster defines a hoard as “a supply or fund stored up and often hidden away”, or alternatively, “a secret store of valuables or money” (“Hoard”). OCD hoarding is a term that is applicable to most forms of hoarding in the sense that the act itself is one out of both obsession and compulsion. The afflicted person may have either a variant of Obses...
The DSM-IV definition of obsessive-compulsive disorder states: "an anxiety disorder, where it is defined as obsessions and/or compulsions that cause marked distress, are time-consuming, or interfere with functioning. Obsessions are defined as recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses or images that are experienced as invasiive and ego-dystonic and that cause anxiety or distress. Compulsions are defined as ritualistic behaviors or mental acts that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be rigidly applied. The behavior or mental act is aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation and is recognized as excessive or unreasonable" (1).
It has been long debated whether genetics or the environment in which one is raised impacts human psychological development the most. In Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro shows that nurture cannot overcome one’s hereditary inclinations. Ishiguro exploits a world where human nature powerfully contradicts nurturing. He shows us that people, no matter how they were created or how they were raised, desire to be loved and accepted and need to know where they came from and what their future possibilities are.
This has a poorer prognosis for treatment than OCD. The treatment for this is Medication such as is SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) medications such as Paxil, Prozac or Effexor, taken at a high dose for at least three months. Added with that is Cognitive and Behavior Therapy to deal with how to get rid of stuff. Intervention plays a strong role as well, my father is a classical trash hoarder and my sister routinely has him remove stuff, and stays up on that. Support groups are vital to this since treatment tends to fail and of course self-help. My father is a hoarder probably due to his upbringing, i.e he and siblings were abused by their father. Thankfully, while my father is weird and difficult to deal with, he never abused
“Many people with hoarding problems have a predominant theme to their hoarding, such as fear of waste, the allure of opportunity, or the comfort and safety provided by the objects.” (Frost15) They make no attempt to organize, categorize or even display the items they hoard. Typically, new items carried into the home are just piled on countertop, tables, in corners of the room or lining the hallway. Sometimes the piles get so big that their valued items get stacked to the ceiling. More times than not hoarders do not even know what is hiding in the massive piles of stuff, nor do they use the useless items that are accumulated. The levels of unmanageable stuff can get so large that clothing, boxes, and other articles cover the beds, or end up getting stacked in the showers. The clutter and mess make the home incapable of being used as intended. Sometimes family members are left wondering what compels these compulsive collectors to create such unlivable conditions in their homes for themselves and others. Most people form an attachment to the things they own or collect same as someone who hoard, however the hoard takes it to an extreme level of emotional attachment. A person who suffers from a hoarding disorder will experience severe anxiety over the thought of throwing out any of the accumulated items they have. They may even become violent and verbally
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is defined by select characteristics (compulsions) and thoughts (obsessions). Obsessive-compulsive disorder usually consists of irrational obsessions, fears, and compulsions. (Mayo, 1) Though obsessions and compulsions are common, it is not necessary to have both when defining Obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some individuals with OCD only have obsessions or compulsions. (Mayo,1)
Obsessions are the unpleasant thoughts or impulses that cause the person with the disorder to have lots of anxiety and edginess. The thoughts may include things such as perfect order of things in a house, perfect hygiene, or the fear that they are going to hurt someone. Obsessions can be violent or sexual.
Many people might claim that they know of someone who can be classified as a “pack-rat.” This type of individual usually has an accumulation of seemingly unnecessary items and refuses to discard them. These items may be a pile of clothes that have not been worn in years or a stack of books that are unlikely to be read. When confronted, this type of individual might claim that these items cannot be thrown away due to their “sentimental value” and/or “potential usefulness”. In many instances, the accumulation of superfluous items by this type of individual isn’t a serious problem that inhibits him or her from living a normal functional life. However, for some individuals that
The Oxford English Dictionary has obsession originally meaning "actuation by the devil or an evil spirit from without" first appearing in 1605, from the Latin obsidere, to beset, occupy. The etymology of obsession shows that it once had to do with malign forces, explaining the reason why today it to used to describe unsatisfactory situations. An obsession has a tendency to play a part of relationships and emotions, namely love. Many upbeat songs voice the not so happy side of obsession. Kylie Minogue's song "Obsession" tells the story of a love gone wrong and how her loved one turned dangerous and "the mind games, driving [her] insane, when [her] life was not [her] own." Another "Obsession" song by Animotion tells the story from the opposite point of view of the individual who is obsessed. "I will have you . . . I need you . . . My fantasy has turned to madness and all my goodness has turned to badness. My need to possess you has consumed my soul. My life is trembling, I have no control." Obsessions usually start with intentions that are pure but, as this song shows, these intentions have become threatening. With this negative aura surrounding the word, it gives it a mysterious quality, making it a perfect name to perk ears up with the mention of the "refreshing oriental woody fragrance" from Calvin Klein. An obsession's downfall is most prevalently seen when the obsession is between two people. An obsession with an object would by far be a safer alternative seeing as how objects are incapable of feeling. Collectors can be described as passionate obsessors.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder has been classified as a type of anxiety disorder under DSM-5, in which there is a presence of obsessions, compulsions or both. Obsessions are defined as “intrusive and mostly nonsensical thoughts, images, or urges that the individual tries to resist or eliminate,” while compulsion are the thought or actions that accompany these obsessions to try to suppress and provide relief. (TEXTBOOK) The obsessions are categorized into four major types, and each is linked with a certain pattern of compulsive behaviors.
Hoarding is defined as, “The excessive collection of items, along with the inability to discard them.” Hoarding is a lot more than a bunch of words bunched together in a definition though. It is a psychological disorder that can have a huge affect on people and their lives. Since it is found in 2%-5% of the general population, it isn’t a disorder that should be taken at all lightly (psycchiatrictimes.com). Hoarding is often a symptom of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), but there is often people who hoard but don’t have symptoms related to OCD (mayoclinic.org). It is something that people can’t control or keep themselves from doing. They see a need to save random items that they think that they might need in the future or that they think might have some sort of value. Everything starts to stockpile up, and before the people know it, there whole living or working space will be cluttered with junk that disrupts their abilities to do anything (psychiatry.org). The bad think about hoarders is that they don’t even see a problem with what they do, so it makes treatment a lot more difficult (mayoclinic.org). Compulsive hoarding, as it is also called, is a big issue for quite a few reasons. There is also more than one kind of hoarding. There are also symptoms of the disorder, causes of the disorder, and risk factors created by the disorder. Even with all of the negatives hoarding has, it still has its treatments.
With the fast development of the Internet and digital space, a person can easily addict to being “plugged in” in this modern society. There are many electronic devices around us so people at first learn how to use and gradually get addicted with them. Addiction to being “plugged in” is a serious problem because of the negative effect from it such as health, the danger side of the Internet. Myself, as a millennial, who was born in a developing generation, can also easily get addicted to being “plugged in” but I know when and where to control my use in electronic devices.
What is addiction? A strong and harmful need to regularly have something or to do something (“Merriam-Webster”). Addiction can be associated with physical things such as drugs, alcohol, phones, or even coffee. It can also correspond with physical acts including sex, gambling, and shopping, as well as the feeling of approval or the feeling of adrenaline.