Obessive-Compulsive Disorder

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is onset by anxiety which causes a person to have life consuming obsessions and compulsions. A person with OCD will spend hours completing ritualizes (patterns), they will isolate themselves form the world or from going to certain places. Treatments and medication are available to people who suffer from OCD to help them control their obsessions. However, not everyone living with OCD has compulsions (Darity 18). There are five different types of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Checkers, Orders, Washers and Cleaners, Hoarders, and Obsessionals.

Obsessions are consistent thoughts and images that force a person to actions; known as compulsions, to reduce their anxiety. A person may constantly wash their hands in fear of germs or check the locks multiple times to insure safety, and may even gather needless items to give the person value. A patient can show multiple symptoms of OCD, making diagnose and providing treatment difficult. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder can develop after a trauma, and recent studies are showing “abnormal levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin may play a role” (Darity 18). William Darity, continues to state:

About 2 to 3 percent of Americans, as many as seven million people, have OCD at some point in their lives. OCD can happen to anyone and usually begins in adolescence or early adulthood, but the disorder can also occur in children. Seventy-five percent of those who develop OCD show symptoms by age thirty. (18)

Hoarding occurs when a patient with OCD collects items, with the feeling of possible needing that specific item one day (Foa and Wilsom 10). Once items find their way into the arms of the hoarder, it is impossible for them to let the items go. Before the pat...

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...recovery depends sole on their own will to live their life free from worry and fear.

In conclusion, obsessive-compulsive disorder can bring a person’s life to a time-consuming, frustrating and embarrassing halt; locked in a prison of rituals with symptoms that have no boarders and can co-exist. OCD can even make a health person question their own sanity. With new research being performed

Works Cited

Darity, William A. “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.” International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 6 (2008): 18-19. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 June 2010

Foa, Edna B. and Wilson, Reid. Stop Obsessing! New York: Bantam Books, 2001. Print

President and Fellows of Harvard College. “Helping compulsive hoarders.” Harvard Mental Health Letter Vol. 26 Issue 6 (Dec 2006): 6-7. Academic Search Complete. Web. 22 June 2010

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