Another way to look at OCD is from the biological perspective, which looks at the genetics, biochemical and brain structure of a person to find a reason why a person acts this way and develops OCD. Genetic studies have demonstrated that both biological and environmental factors are important to the development of OCD. No specific gene for OCD has yet been identified. Twin studies confirmed that there is a genetic component that causes OCD. Many researchers found that, in twin studies, monozygotic twins were more concordant with OCD than dizygotic twins were. The higher concordance in monozygotic twins than dizygotic twins imply that there is some type of genetic transmission. The fact that the concordance rate in monozygotic twins is not 100% points out that environmental factors may have an influence on the development of OCD as well. Studies have also shown that OCD is also familial and runs in families. The families of a person who is diagnosed with OCD have higher risk of developing OCD and tics disorders, which are repetitive movements and sounds, than does the general population. Studies have proved that parents, siblings and children of a person with OCD, have higher risk of developing OCD than does someone with no family history of the disorder, but this may only be correct for some kinds of OCD. For example, familial factors include the age of onset, which is that childhood-onset OCD have a tendency to run in families, and family history of tic-related disorders like Tourette’s disorder. Tourette’s disorder is a disorder, which causes a person to make repetitive movements and sounds that they cannot control. Preparedness theory of phobia is a concept developed to explain why specific connections to objects are learned... ... middle of paper ... ...after the infection. The infection itself does not cause OCD but elicits symptoms of OCD in children who have a genetic tendency to develop it. Treatment: There are three possible ways to treat OCD: psychotherapy, CBT, and medications. For medication, it has been found that serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) are effective in treating OCD, which increases the level of serotonin in the brain. SRIs belong to a group of drugs called antidepressants. Antidepressants include: clomipramine, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, and sertraline. Clomipramine is very different from the rest of them because the other antidepressants mainly affect serotonin only and they are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). However, clomipramine affects other neurotransmitters, which causes more side effects than SSRIs. And this is why doctors prescribe SSRIs first.
The DSM-5 (2013) identifies additional social factors that may contribute or result from OCD. These factors include a history of physical or sexual abuse, trauma history, deficits in social support, family dysfunction, and infectious environmental agents. Earlier onset is an additional situational factor as it is often correlated with more severe symptom presentation (American Psychological Association, 2013).
As with all other phobias, agoraphobia is often acquired through classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus (Weiten, 1998). Describing and explaining exactly how agoraphobia is acquired can be achieved by identifying the antecedents of the phobia. Antecedents are the events that precede a particular response. In the case of agoraphobia, this response is a panic attack. Agoraphobia is essentially anxiety of three kinds, phobic anxiety, panic anxiety (the panic attacks), and phobic a...
Fear is a potent emotional response developed by the intrinsic need to learn in order for one to better their means of self-preservation. Though often overlooked, fear is a mental construct which presents great importance in understanding an individual’s thoughts and mannerisms. Children can help scientists to better recognize how these fears emerge. The early years of life can be considered the most daunting; everything in the environment surrounding a child is fairly new, strange, and unfamiliar. In the psychological community, it is widely accepted that fears are determined from two main constituents: biological and environmental factors. Both factors play an essential role in defining fear as well as the determination of what a child may
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a disease that afflicts up to six million Americans, however all its characteristics are yet to be fully understood. Its causes, triggers, attributes, and variations are still unknown although effective medicines exist to treat the symptoms. OCD is a very peculiar disease as Rapoport discusses it comes in many different forms and have different symptoms yet have many similarities. One sure aspect is that it appears, or at least its symptoms do, out of the blue and is triggered either by stressful experiences or, most of the time, just appears out of nowhere. One example is a boy who's father was hard on him for being affected by the worlds "modern ways", the boy at a high school party tries LSD ( a hallucinatory drug), after that thoughts of whether his mind was dangerously affected by the drug. What seemed like completely appropriate worrying and anxiety turned into attacks of anxiety, he couldn't shake the thoughts that something was wrong with his mind. Essentially he had "his mind on his mind" constantly and that haunted his days his thought were as follows: " did the lsd do anything to my mind? The thought never went away ; instead it got more and more complicated. There must be something wrong with my mind if i am spending so much time worrying about it. Is there something wrong with my mind? Was this from the lsd? Will it ever get better?" (The boy who, J. L. Rapoport 125,126) Dr. Rapoport promptly put him on Anafranil (an anti-depressant, used for OCD, not marketed in the U.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD for short, has affected numerous people; one being Jeff Bell, the author of the book Rewind, Replay, Repeat: A memoir of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. This book has much insight on OCD and touches many interesting facts that some people would never know prior to reading.
"OCD and Genetics." About.com Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
The neurobiological link between OCD and ADHD says “Obsessive compulsive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are two of the most common neuropsychiatric diseases in pediatric populations. Neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies suggest that similar executive functions are affected in both disorders” (Brem et al. 175). The syllable of the syllable. OCD and ADHD are very common, especially in children, and they both have similar effects.... ...
People from all walks of life can get a diagnosis of OCD. It can be found in multiple groups of people in all social and ethnic groups and found in both male and female. Most symptoms are formed in early childhood, the teenage or young adult years. If the appearance of OCD suddenly appears later in life could merit a thorough medical evaluation to ensure that another illness is not the underlining causes of these symptoms. This paper will discuss what OCD is, who actually gets it is, what the actual causes of OCD are, and what the effective treatments for OCD are available out there (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD, ...
The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? I’m sure that most everyone has seen different news shows or talk shows where you see the person washing their hands until they bleed, or go back and forth into the house to double, triple, quadruple check something. A person may walk around their house making sure everything is “in its place” and not stop until a level of perfect is reached but often perfection in their eyes is never achieved. Magazines and books need to be parallel to the table they are on and of course the table must be parallel with the rest of the furniture in the room. These are just a few examples of behaviors that are demonstrated when a person has OCD.
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry. The acts of those who have OCD may appear paranoid and potentially psychotic. However, OCD sufferers generally recognize their obsessions and compulsions as irrational and may become further distressed by this realization. Obsessive–compulsive disorder affects children and adolescents, as well as adults. Roughly one third to one half of adults with OCD reports a childhood onset of the disorder, suggesting the continuum of anxiety disorders across the life span. OCD may be a result of changes in your body's own natural chemistry or brain functions. OCD also may have a genetic component, but specific genes have yet to be identified. OCD may stem from behavior-related habits that you learned over time. Doctors do not know the exact cause of OCD, factors that may play a role include head injury, infections, and abnormal function in certain areas of the brain and family genes seems to play a strong role. Most people who develop OCD it shows the symptoms by age 30. Often the person carries out the behaviors to get rid of the obsessive thoughts, but this only provides temporary relief. Not doing the obsessive rituals can cause great anxiety.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a disease that a lot of people suffer with in society especially young adults. While it is not a disease that is deadly, it does affect the victim in every day aspects of their life and can ultimately control their lives. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as, “… a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over”. The thoughts that individuals have when suffering through Obsessive Compulsive Disorder cannot be restrained and really can disturb the individual. Thoughts or actions that people may have can range from worrying about daily occurrences, such as washing their hands, to having thoughts of harming people that are close to them. People tend to have these reoccurring compulsions because they believe by doing them or thinking them, they will either prevent something bad from happening or because it eliminates stress that they have. This disease can last a lifetime and can be very detrimental and disabling to how one lives their lives. Individuals can start to see signs of OCD in either late adolescence or even early adulthood and everyone is susceptible. When it comes to classifying this incurable disease, there is much debate on whether or not it a type of anxiety (Abramowitz, Taylor, & McKay, 2009). It is important to be able to understand this mental disorder since so many people are diagnosed with it. While there are treatments for OCD, there are no cures yet. Treatments could range anywhere from taking prescribed medication to just going to therapy and counseling fo...
This means that individuals with BDD/ED are highly likely to be diagnosed with OCD as well, but individuals with OCD are not equally likely to be diagnosed with BDD or ED. Due to BDD/ED being highly comorbid with OCD this may point to a shared pathway between the disorders that may indicate these disorders being on the OCSD. This idea of possible shared pathways gains strength when it is shown that there may be similar neurotransmitter disturbances between ED and OCD with evidence suggesting that individuals with ED and/or OCD show similar disturbances in 5-HT (serotonin) function. A disturbance in serotonin function may help to explain why all three disorder groups respond in varying degrees to
OCD has symptoms such as compulsive hoarding, extreme anxiety, depression, and food aversions. It currently has no sure cause but it has said to be a product of genetics or abnormalities in the brain and serotonin levels as controlling serotonin tends to help in treatment of OCD. Obsessive Compulsive disorder is seen in 2.3% of Americans. It’s more prominent in adults than in children.
...e several different theories that try to analyze the stem of this disorder. OCD can be attributed to stress, which can intensify or prompt the symptoms. Experts on this medical field also identify brain dysfunctions such as encephalitis, head trauma, or some other brain disorder as a possible cause of brain abnormalities that may result in OCD. The patient’s genetics can also have a pertinent role in the developing of the disorder experts believe that a person can inherit a tendency to develop OCD under certain conditions. An unbalanced level of brain chemicals according to serotonin theory can also be attributed to a person suffering from OCD. Lastly, learned behavior, is also a crucial factor that needs to be analyzed. If a child is taught that he/she may be predisposed to fear, he/she develop compulsions in order to reduce said fears when negative thoughts occur.
Gulli, C. (2009, 10 19). Fear Factor. Maclean's, 122(40), p. 100. Retrieved April 30, 2014