Obsessive compulsive disorder is said to affect 2.3% of the population who are between the ages of eighteen and fifty-four. In the United States alone, 3.3 million people suffer from this mental illness. Statistics have shown that both men and women are equally affected by obsessive compulsive disorder. Children as young as six years old could show signs of OCD, however, diagnosis at this age could be difficult. In most cases, signs of OCD become definite during adolescence into early adulthood. Usually stress, illnesses and fatigue can lead this disorder and its symptoms to worsen. Throughout a person’s life, OCD could become mild, to the point where it is almost nonexistent, or it could completely take over their lives. It is incredibly important to seek help and continue treatment that will help maintain OCD at a healthy level. Failing to do so can certainly lead to the inability to function properly in one’s life (Understanding Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). This paper will discuss obsessive compulsive disorder in detail. It will compare the differences between obsessions versus compulsions, possible causes of OCD that have been discovered to date, the different types of OCD, and finally, various treatment options.
What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
Obsessive compulsive disorder is a mental illness which affects a person’s thoughts and actions. It is categorized as an anxiety disorder. People with obsessive compulsive disorder are known to have reoccurring thoughts and/or engage in the same behaviors multiple times throughout the day which they feel compelled to do. Sometimes, obsessions become disturbing images or uncontrollable impulses. A person with this disorder most often tries to get rid of obsessive thoughts by pe...
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...th OCD could learn to control their obsessions and compulsions with the help of a professional, friends and family, and, a bit more challenging, by themselves (Robinson, Segal & Smith, 2014).
Works Cited
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Lawrence, R., Melinda, S., & Jeanne, S. (n.d.). “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder”. Help Guide. Retrieved May 8, 2014 from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/obsessive_compulsive_disorder_ocd.htm
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“Understanding Compulsive Disorder”. (n.d.). UOCD. Retrieved May 8, 2014 from http://understanding_ocd.tripod.com/index.html
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.
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 Causes of Ocd." By Ruth Moran. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
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.
"Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD." National Institute of Mental Health. USA.Gov, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. .
...sufferers with OCD often do not understand the steps they need to take to help the sufferer get through thus, causing tension among family members. According to Van Noppen and Tortora Pato (2009) , “This lets them know that their hard work to get better is being recognized and can be a powerful motivator.” By encouraging family members a person with OCD can get through it easier.
For a person to be diagnosed with OCD, they need to have both an obsession and a compulsion. An obsession is best defined as recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges or images that are experienced during the disturbance as intrusive and unwanted. While compulsions are defined by: repetitive behaviours such as hand washing, ordering, checking in which the person feels they feel strongly compelled to perform in response to their obsession The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM–5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The most empirically sound method of treatment is called Exposure response prevention (Himle & Franklin, 2009). This will be the psychological method of treatment discussed.
"Personal Stories - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA." Personal Stories - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder that can be best characterized by the recurrent or disturbing thoughts that are labeled as obsessions. Sometime these obsessions can take on the form of intrusive images or the unwanted impulses. The compulsions can come from the repetitive or ritualized behaviors that a person feels driven to perform on a daily basis. The majority of people with the diagnosis of OCD can have both obsessions and compulsions, but most of the times about 20% have obsessions alone while 10% may have the compulsions alone (Goodman M.D., 2013) . Common types that have been illustrated in individual’s diagnoses with OCD can be characterized with concerns of contamination, safety or harm to themselves, unwanted acts of aggression, the unacceptable sexual or religious thoughts, and the need for symmetry or exactness. While some of the most common compulsion can be characterized as excessive cleaning, checking, ordering, and arranging rituals or the counting and repeating routines activities that are done sometimes on a daily basis multiple times in a day.
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Anxiety and Depression Association of America (2010-2016). Obsessive Compulsive Foundation OCD Support. Retrieved on August 20, 2016, from https://www.adaa.org/search/node?keys=obsessive+compulsive
OCD is an anxiety disorder that describes someone with either obsessive thoughts or compulsive behavior or with both (Thomsen 1). Anybody with this psychological disorder have thoughts and a repetitive behavior going on in their head that they cannot stop; all these thoughts can result to a highly anxiety disorder. Obsessions can result to the compulsions that are also repetitive behaviors (“Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Part II” 2). There are different kinds of obsessions one person has, but the most common are fear of contamination, fear of behaving in a socially unacceptable manner, need for exactness, and fear of making a mistake. The most common compulsions are cleaning, constantly checking things; such as making sure the door is locked, ordering, and avoidance (“Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Part II” 2). Less than 20% of people have obsessions or compulsions and at least 80 % of people with OCD have both obsessions and compulsions (Bakalar 3).
Hyman, Bruce M., and Cherry Pedrick. "The Symptoms of OCD." Obsessive-compulsive Disorder. Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century, 2009. Print.
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...