Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

1233 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Chapter 6 anxiety disorders

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder which can afflict a person throughout his or her lifetime. OCD sometimes runs in families, but no one knows for sure why some people have it while others don't. Researchers have found that several parts of the brain are involved in fear and anxiety. About one in 50 people have OCD at some point in their lives. OCD usually starts in the teens or early twenties. Obsession and Compulsion are to main components for this disorder.
Obsessions are thoughts or images that will not go away. An obsession is intrusive and normally seen as irrational, but the person with OCD is not able to stop or ignore these thoughts. Some common obsessions include the fear of becoming sick with germs. Some consistently worry about whether the stove was turned off when they left the house. OCD people feel fear along with the obsessive thoughts.
Sometimes obsessions can be mild, occurring every now and then. Other times obsessive thoughts can happen constantly. Those thoughts can occur daily. Obsessive thoughts can interfere with daily life, causing problems in relationships at work.
Some common obsessions include fear of dirt, fear of becoming sick, constant thoughts of a certain number, and need to have something done in a certain order or a certain way, fear of germs, worrying about whether something has been done “right”.
Obsessions are recurring thoughts but compulsions are recurring actions. Usually compulsions are ways for people to be relieved from their obsessive thoughts. For example, if a person has obsessions with germs, a person will continuously wash their hands to keep germs away. When a person continuously repeats an action, obsessions may go away. Usually they would return after a sho...

... middle of paper ...

... up to a 'bad' number."
"Getting dressed in the morning was tough, because I had a routine, and if I didn't follow the routine, I'd get anxious and would have to get dressed again. I always worried that if I didn't do something my parents were going to die. I'd have these terrible thoughts of harming my parents. I knew that was completely irrational, but the thoughts triggered more anxiety and more senseless behavior. Because of the time I spent on rituals, I was unable to do a lot of things that were important to me."
"I knew the rituals didn't make sense, and I was deeply ashamed of them, but I couldn't seem to overcome them until I got treatment."
OCD is a really difficult disease to live with on a daily bases. It can take over your life and make you so miserable. It limits the things you really want to do and it’s not fair. So be thankful for the life you have.

Show More
Related

  • Anxiety Disorders : Generalized Anxiety Disorder

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Other Wes Moore: One Name Two Fates

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although I grew up with both my parents, my dad was working a 12 hour shift, so he could provide for all his children. Even though I had the love of both my parents, I chose to hang out with my neighbors most of the day. The neighborhood I lived in was full of drugs, violence, and money. I wasn’t really into the violence part. My dad was working all day just so we could have the things we required. I didn’t want to waist our family’s money so I would never ask my Mom or Dad for any. I started hustling anything I had or could get my hands on. It was a bad decision but at the time I wasn’t thinking about the consequences. I was just trying to get my hands on a lot of money. I started robbing places and people, and ended up getting arrested a couple times. Before I started to realize that in the long run, it would turn out for the worst. The first time I got arrested, I didn’t even care. I just wanted to get done with the process of everything, and get back to what I was doing. My mind was set to think “Damn how could you make a silly mistake, and get caught like that.” My mother was totally shocked when she found out that I was getting into trouble, because I hadn’t gotten any complains from school for bad behavior, or bad grades, and I had never let my mom know that I was doing all these useless stuff. Ultimately I got sent to boarding school and now have completely switched up my life. My environment was having a big affect on my life. I learned from my mistakes and I am making a better future for myself. I don’t regret much because, I have gained so much knowledge from the wrong things I did in my life. The author Wes Moore had a change of environment and influences and turned out in a different situation, than the other Wes moor...

    Read More

  • Anoreixa Nervosa and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

    2552 Words  | 6 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Nature vs Nurture

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder which causes people to develop an anxiety when certain obsessions or compulsions are not fulfilled. OCD can affect both children and adults with more than half of all adults with OCD stating that they experienced signs as a child. People living with OCD display many obvious signs such as opening and closing a door fifty times because they have to do it “just right”. Others exhibit extreme cleanliness and will wash their hands or take showers as often as they can because they constantly feel dirty. OCD devastates people’s social lives as they are fixated and obsessed with perfection that can take forever to achieve. However people living with OCD are often found to have an above average intelligence and typically excel at school due to their detail oriented mindset, cautious planning and patience. OCD can be caused by many different factors such as genetics or the ever changing world a...

    Read More

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ( Ocd )

    1616 Words  | 4 Pages

    Obsessive compulsive disorder is believed to be linked to other disorders and disabilities. The symptoms cause a lot of stress and anxiety and it could lead to depression. OCD can develop over time or be something one is born with. Many people suffer from this disorder but there are different ways to treat the symptoms such as cognitive behavioral therapy and medication. OCD is a very common yet serious disorder that does not seem significant to those who do not have it but it is not something that should ever be ignored.

    Read More

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    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, ...

    Read More

  • Obsessive Compulsive Eating Disorder

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Analysis of a Cleaning/Contamination Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Case

    2784 Words  | 6 Pages

    This case paper is about Lucinda, a 20-year old single female, who suffers from the Cleaning/Contamination Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) condition since she was very young. She is characterized by intrusive thoughts, images, and/or impulses that cause distress (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors that are performed to neutralize these intrusions (Coles, Schofield & Pietrefesa, 2006), i.e. her repetitive cleaning and washing behaviors. Her anxiety became so excessive that it interfered with her daily life. She perceived that some undesirable object(s), in this case the germs, were still on the things that she will come in contact with, even after she had repeatedly washing and/or cleaning them. Her anxiety further degraded both her social and occupational functioning, which resulted in considerable impacts to herself, her friends and family. In additions, her anxiety also caused her not be able to function to her fullest potential academically and to socialize with her friends and family as much as she wanted to.

    Read More

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

    1242 Words  | 3 Pages

    OCD can be a difficult thing to live with and a struggle for some. If you are someone who has OCD and don’t get treatment you should because it may save your life or just simply help you to be a happier person if this disease gets you down. With all that being said I encourage anyone who has it not to let this get you down and please get treatment.

    Read More

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are several things that are included in OCD, including its symptoms, treatments and its involvement with the brain. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder recognize their symptoms to be ego-dystonic which are thoughts one would not usually have and not within one’s control but is still a product of one’s mind. The two common symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions take the form of persistent and uncontrollable thoughts, images, impulses, worries, fears or doubts. An anonymous writer wrote about his/her images, “These images included hitting, stabbing, poisoning and shooting people, even the people I loved the most…” However, compulsions are either repetitive physical behaviors or mental thought rituals that are performed over and over again to help relieve a person’s anxiety. Over time compulsions can become more elaborate and time- consuming. Shirley Brinkerhoff mentions in her book Amanda, a high school girl facing OCD, said, “Then I started having to count my steps. Like, 387 steps to the bus stop, and if missed...

    Read More

  • Psychological Disorders

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anxiety disorder is a type of abnormal behavior characterized by unrealistic, irrational fear. These types of disorders are diagnosed two as often in women as in men. Although these disorders can be very chronic and serious, they are easily treatable. Generalized anxiety disorder is when people experience fear and worry that is not focused on one specific aspect; nevertheless, they suffer greatly with headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations, and insomnia. Obsessive-compulsive disorder, better known as OCD, involves persistent, unwanted, obsessions and irresistible urges to perform compulsions in order to relieve anxiety. Unlike other anxiety disorders, OCD consists more of anxiety and worry rather than fear itself. Many people who experience OCD are aware that there is no motive behind their actions, however their anxiety is heightened when they try to ignore the compulsions. People with such anxiety disorders often experience sensitivity to other people’s views as well as worry over their surroundings.

    Read More

  • Compulsive Disorder: An Analysis Of Melvin Udall In As Good As It Gets

    1808 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Compulsive Hoarding Syndrome

    1788 Words  | 4 Pages

    Imagine how much trash and waste people discard in their lifetimes. Now imagine a person living in that waste they have accumulated in their lifetime stored in their own homes because of their inability to discard the useless items. This is what day-to-day life is like for a compulsive hoarder. Compulsive hoarding is a chronic behavioral syndrome that is defined by a person's extreme retention of useless items and crippling inability to discard such items. Compulsive hoarding has been traditionally recognized amongst psychiatrists and researchers in human behavior as a sub-type of obsessive-compulsive disorder due to similar symptoms hoarders have with those that suffer from OCD. However, there is substantial evidence that proves contrary. Hoarders often have several other behavioral or physical symptoms that are not typical of a person with OCD, hoarders also have genetic and physical anomalies different from OCD, and finally, most compulsive hoarders do not respond to treatments intended for OCD patients. Because of these differences, compulsive hoarding should be seen as a separate syndrome apart from OCD, so that the disorder may be categorized and studied accurately in order to pursue more effective treatments.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Movie Girl Interrupted

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder In Matchstick Men

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    While Matchstick Men depicts Nicholas Cage’s character, Roy, as a person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder really well; meaning his disorder falls under the four D categories of abnormal psychology, it can be argued that Roy actually does not have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. After Roy dropped his illegally obtained pink pills that resemble Paroxetine for treating OCD, his partner in crime, Frank, suggested he go see a shrink. Dr. Klein disagreed with Roy on him having this disorder, believing it may be something else. It can be argued that Roy had a substance dependency on these pills his previous doctor gave him and believed so deeply that he had a disorder that could only be treated with medicine. Dr. Klein gave Roy vitamins that Roy believed was medication, his symptoms declined while he believed to be taking this medication, exhibiting the placebo effect. Roy’s messy car and habit of smoking and spreading ashes in his car as well as in his home contradict his compulsions and obsessions of cleanliness, although when there is a mess he becomes dysfunctional and

    Read More

More about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Open Document