Abnormal Psychology
explanatory Essay
2413 words
Lucinda, a twenty-year-old college female, has been performing time-consuming cleaning behavior. Her diagnosis is obsessive-compulsive disorder based on DSM IV-TR criteria. The essential features of this disorder are recurrent obsessions and compulsions that can be either of the following: a) severe and to the point of being time-consuming and taking up more than 1 hour of the day or b) causing significant lifestyle impairment that interferes with a person’s normal routine, occupational or academic functioning, or social activities and relationships (Barlow & Durand, 2012).
Lucinda’s case fits this criterion because she has impairment of academic functioning. She repeatedly is late to class, misses multiple class periods every semester, and ends up having to drop classes every semester due to her obsessional fear of germs and her compulsive cleaning of her house and bathroom delaying her arrival to class. In addition to the time-consuming cleaning rituals she performs, her relationships are beginning to strain and become impaired, as she has been secluding herself from social events with friends and family. She has a great concern that restaurants and her friends homes are not be clean enough and she fears she would come in contact with germs.
Lucinda suffers from one of the most common types of obsessions: fear of germs/contaminants. Her obsession with germs consumes most of her day in the form of anxiety and these intrusive and persistent thoughts fit the criteria for the obsession part of the disorder as stated in DSM-IV-TR. In addition she tries to calm these impulsive thoughts by cleaning extensively in an effort to suppress her fear of germs and contaminants. Even though she uses hand sanitizer multiple times throu...
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Foa, E. B., Liebowitz, M. R., Kozak, M. J., Davies, S., & al, e. (2005). Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of exposure and ritual prevention, clomipramine, and their combination in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(1), 151-61. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.162.1.151
Real, E., Labad, J., Alonso, P., Segalàs, C., Jiménez-Murcia, S., Bueno, B., Subirà, M.,
Vallejo, J. & Menchón, J. M. (2011). Stressful life events at onset of obsessive–compulsive disorder are associated with a distinct clinical pattern. Depression and Anxiety, 28, 367–376. doi: 10.1002/da.20792
Rosso, G., Albert, U., Asinari, G. F., Bogetto, F., & Maina, G. (2012). Stressful life events and obsessive-compulsive disorder: Clinical features and symptom dimensions. Psychiatry Research, 197(3), 259-264. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2011.10.005
In this essay, the author
- Cites foa, e. b., liebowitz, m. r.
- Explains that the american journal of psychiatry, 162(1), 151-61.
- Explains that lucinda, a twenty-year-old college female, has recurrent obsessions and compulsions that consume most of her day in the form of anxiety.
- Explains that stressful life events at onset of obsessive-compulsively disorder are associated with a distinct clinical pattern.
Related
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- Obsessive Compulsive Disorderanalytical essayHollander, Eric, and Dan J. Stein. Obsessive–Compulsive Disorders: Diagnosis, Etiology, Treatment. New York: Dekker, 1997. Print. Expanded eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that ocd is a recognized mental disorder that is common in society and has various causes and treatment methods that go along with it.
- Explains that ocd is a mental disease in which people have both obsessions and compulsions or each individually. obsessions can be things that cause one to worry and cause anxiety.
- Analyzes the prevalence of obsessive-compulsively disorders in the general population, and explains that ocd is the fourth most common mental disorder.
- Explains that ocd can result from biological factors such as changes in ones chemicals or in a person's brain functions; no gene has been found to cause this disorder.
- Explains that psychotherapy and medications are the most commonly used forms of treatment for ocd. antidepressants such as prozac and zolof have been approved by fda.
- Explains that treatment methods such as psychiatric hospitalization and residential treatment are often used when medication and psychotherapy aren't enough to fully treat a person's ocd.
- Explains that ocd is a mental disorder that affects many people, but it is controllable and there are many ways to treat or help those affected cope with it.
- Describes the contents of the mayo clinic's "obsessive-compulsively disorder" book.
638 wordsRead More - The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washinganalytical essayIn the book "The boy who couldn't stop washing" by Judith L. Rapoport, M.D., the narrator, Rapoport, deals with hundreds of mentally disturbed children and adults who suffer of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Rapoport describes the intricacies of the disease and its treatments as well as the fact that the cause is unknown but there are many probable theories. Victims of this horrible disease are plagued with overwhelming thoughts of insecurity that tear apart their lives and haunt them, increasingly, over their lifetimes. Rapoport while learning about OCD, herself, learned how to treat each one with many different psychological perspectives including: biological, behavioral, and psychodynamic contributions. A story on ABC's 20/20 about OCD brought Rapoport's new study on the disease to the light, resulting in thousands of calls to her office daily from desperate OCD sufferers.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how rapoport's book "the boy who couldn't stop washing" describes the intricacies of the disease and its treatments as well as the fact that the cause is unknown but there are many probable theories.
- Explains that ocd is a peculiar disease that afflicts up to six million americans, but its causes, triggers, attributes, and variations are still unknown.
- Narrates rapoport's story of a young man with ocd who tried to control the impulses in solidarity.
- Explains that ocd has abnormal activity in the basal ganglia and a tic suggesting short-circuits might cause the incessant, torturous thoughts.
- Explains that ocd is not just a psychdynamic but biological disease. many symptoms can be broken or put away for periods of time.
919 wordsRead More - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)explanatory essayObsessive compulsive disorder is a disease that many people know of, but few people know about. Many people associate repeated washing of hands, or flicking of switches, and even cleanliness with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), however there are many more symptoms, and there are also explanations for those symptoms. In this paper, I will describe what obsessive compulsive disorder is, explain some of the effects of it, and explain why it happens. I will also attempt to prove that while medication doesn’t cure OCD, it vastly improves one’s quality of life. Furthermore I intend to show that behavior therapy (cognitive based therapy) is another useful tool in helping a person to overcome their OCD.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that summers, marc, and hollander, eric (2000), everything in its place: my trials and triumphs with obsessive compulsively disorder.
- Cites barrett, paula, healy-farrell, lara, and march, john, in the journal of academic child adolescence psychiatry.
- Explains that ocd is a medical brain disorder that causes problems in information processing. the who classifies it as one of the top ten most "disabling illnesses."
- Explains the world health organization collaborating centre for mental health and substance abuse's science and nature: human body and mind.
3366 wordsRead More - Obsessive Compulsive Eating Disorderexplanatory essayCompulsions are the behaviors that relieve the person of anxiety temporarily. If the obsession is perfect hygiene, the compulsion could be washing hands constantly. Compulsions can also be checking on something over and over again, including repeating phrases to calm themselves down. Basically, they are...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that obsessive-compulsively disorder can ruin a person's life because it causes them to have repetitive thoughts and behaviors towards certain things.
- Explains that obsessive thoughts or impulses cause anxiety and edginess. they can be violent or sexual.
- Explains compulsions are behaviors that relieve the person of anxiety temporarily, such as washing hands constantly, checking on something over and over again, and repeating phrases to calm themselves down.
- Explains that ocd is caused by environmental stresses, neurobiological factors, and what the patient recognizes as being right or wrong.
- Explains that people with ocd show differences in brain activity compared to other people and have less white matter in the brain than normal people. these results have been obtained using brain-imaging machines.
- Explains that ocd victims may also have other diseases, such as tourette's syndrome, movement spasms and vocal outbreaks, impulses to pull out their hair and perfect their appearance.
- Analyzes how victims deal with their problem in different ways. some try to block their obsessions, while others hide their secret during school or work. by the time they get professional help, they already have the disease.
- Explains that many types of medicines can stimulate the neurotransmitter called serotonin, decreasing the symptoms. the patient can also look into behavior therapy.
- Cites harvard mental health letter and infotrac. hanley library, university of pittsburgh at bradford.
587 wordsRead More - Obsessive Compulsive Checkingexplanatory essayObsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) can be defined as having repetitive, unwanted, urges and thoughts that raise the need for excessive amounts of time or energy spent on the unwanted urges. OCD typically involved ritualistic like tendencies that result in two types of characteristics, obsessions and compulsions. Obsession can be characterized by the actions and thoughts that intrude one’s mind. As well as the uncontrollable and irrational impulses one must face with OCD. Compulsions can be defined as the act of doing excessive things related to behaviors. People feel the need to act on these compulsions for the sole purposes of releasing the anxiety they feel by the compulsive and reoccurring thoughts. In essence,...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that ocd is the result of paranoia within one's brain. compulsive checking is one of the highest diagnosed sub-types.
- Explains that ocd involves ritualistic like tendencies that result in two types of characteristics, obsessions and compulsions. obsessions are thoughts and idealistic images.
- Explains that ocd sufferers must describe their symptoms to a medical professional before being diagnosed.
- Explains that ocd can be linked with comorbitity attributes such as depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd), which can wretch one's mind to an unbelievable level of anxious thoughts and emotions.
- Explains that ocd is accompanied by a multitude of other disorders that co-exist within each other.
- Explains the social effects of ocd, which can be similar between adolescents and adults but have many differences as well.
- Explains that ocd is a broad spectrum of all the disorders associated with it. obsessive checking is one of the highest diagnosed sub-types.
- Explains that a person who experiences compulsive ocd checking behaviors will check their house, car, and other valuables to make sure they are safe.
- Explains that compulsive checking can have many effects on a person's life, such as losing their jobs and being shunned by society. the families of ocd sufferers often do not understand the steps they need to take to help the sufferer.
- Concludes that ocd and compulsive checking can be debilitating to everyday life. people need to be educated in the disorder to aid the relief of these suffers and their families.
- Explains that while there is no clear cut cause of ocd, there are many different factors that contribute strongly to the diagnosis of the disorder.
- Opines that treatment for ocd comes down to personal choice. medications are effective, but antidepressants interact with the brain chemical serotonin. cognitive therapy is a slow process that reduces intrusive thoughts.
- Explains that there are many stigmas associated with people with mental disorders, such as self-image and compulsive checking.
2580 wordsRead More - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Religionanalytical essayObsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) affects up to 2.1% of adults and features pervasive and intrusive thoughts that lead to repetitive uncontrollable behaviors aimed to reduce anxiety (APA, 2000). Further, these thoughts and behaviors impede and disrupt daily living and cause marked distress in the lives of the sufferer. The recurrent thoughts often center on fear of contamination, harming self or others, and illness (Himle, Chatters, Taylor, and Nguyen, 2011). Those who experience the compulsive behaviors associated with OCD report feeling as though they cannot stop or control the urge to perform the compulsive behavior and that the urge is alien or from outside conscious control. Behaviors often involve washing the hands or body, repeatedly checking, and mental acts such as counting and repeated prayers. (Himle, Chatters, Taylor, and Nguyen, 2011) According to Obsessive-Compulsive Working Group (1997, 2001, as cited by Abramowitz, Deacon, Woods, and Tolin, 2004) OCD can be classified into six domains. The domains include inflated responsibility, beliefs about the importance of thoughts, importance of controlling thoughts, overestimation of threats, intolerance of uncertainty, and perfectionism. Inflated responsibility involve excessive feelings of responsibility for actions seen as harmful or failing to take action to prevent harm, whereas the domain of importance of thought involved attributing excessive authority or power to unwanted thoughts and beliefs. Similarly, the importance of controlling thoughts entailed the belief that one should be in control of every thought at all times. The unrealistic belief that unlikely events will always occur and bring with them extreme consequences characte...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that ocd affects up to 2.1% of adults and features pervasive and intrusive thoughts that lead to repetitive uncontrollable behaviors aimed to reduce anxiety.
- Explains that 33% of individuals who have ocd have a religious sub-type called scrupulosity, which involves intense fear of breaking religious rules and violating religious standards.
- Explains that scrupulosity in orthodox judaism is similar to other religions, but the expression of it may appear vastly different from other religious groups.
- Analyzes how huppert, siev, and kushner (2007) reported on ocd in ultra-orthodox jews.
- Explains that treatment for ocd typically involves the application of cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or both.
- Explains the importance of respect and understanding of the beliefs of religious clients with ocd. abramowitz et al. (2004) suggested using psychoeducation before treatment to bridge the gap in understanding between the clients and the therapist.
- Explains that ocd involves a number of areas of life including religious beliefs. treatments for rocd include cbt and ssri, and treating therapist must consider the client’s religious view when building the therapeutic alliance.
- Analyzes how yossifova and loewenthal used case vignettes to investigate how people perceived ocd in religious and non-religious people.
- Cites abramowitz, deacon, woods, c. m., and tolin, d.
2146 wordsRead More - OCD: The Battle Against Obsessionsexplanatory essayObsessive Compulsive Disorder is a Psychological Anxiety Disorder, there is the obsession and then the compulsion to try and fix the obsession. An obsession is an unstoppable thought much like an error signal, “obsessions involve persistent and recurrent intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses that are experienced as disturbing, inappropriate, and uncontrollable.” (Butcher 202). While a compulsion is a thought or action designed to get rid of the obsession that is plaguing the person with the disorder, “Compulsions can involve either overt repetitive behaviors that are performed as lengthy rituals or more covert mental rituals.” (Butcher 202). The prevalence of this disorder is placed “at between one and three percent, although the prevalence of clinically recognized OCD is much lower.” (Ramasamy 2). OCD is an anxiety disorder that is taken very seriously, with the symptoms being so life changing the people affected deal with functional impairment in their life.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that ocd is a psychological anxiety disorder. it involves persistent and recurrent intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses that are disturbing, inappropriate, and uncontrollable.
- Explains that the etiology of ocd is biological in nature and endogenous, with lowered serotonin and specific brain architecture.
- Explains that the treatment of ocd is biological, and that clomipramine and the ssris are equally effective at relieving obsessions and compulsions.
- Explains that decloedt, eric h., and dan j. stein, "current trends in drug treatment of obsessive–compulsively disorder." national center for biotechnology information.
694 wordsRead More - Society and Mental Illness: Obsessive Compulsive Disorderexplanatory essayAs described by the Office on Women’s Health, U.S. Department of Human and Health Services, “People with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) have thoughts (obsessions) or rituals (compulsions) which happen over and over again. Rituals — such as hand washing, counting, checking on a specific item (like whether the oven was left on), or cleaning — often are done in hope of stopping the thoughts” (“Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,” 2010). Unfortunately, these repetitive actions only offer momentary feelings of relief. The thoughts and compulsions continue and can take over the individual’s life. The most common behaviors, such as checking, counting and cleaning, may be performed hundreds of times daily (King, 2013, p. 452). This is the main distinction from a person’s normal anxieties.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that ocd is a mental disorder with recurring and persistent thoughts and compulsive behaviors that interfere with the patient's daily life.
- Explains that ocd sufferers have thoughts or rituals which happen over and over again. rituals, such as hand washing, counting, checking on a specific item, or cleaning, can take over the individual's life.
- Explains that the university of pennsylvania school of medicine defines the criteria for a diagnosis of ocd to include the patient's realization that his/her obsessions or compulsions are unreasonable or excessive.
- Argues that ocd patients should not be compared to other individuals, such as impulse shoppers who receive instant gratification from their shopping addiction, or perfectionists who rearrange pillows and perfectly align magazines on the coffee table.
- Explains that ocd affects about 2.2 million american adults. it strikes men and women in roughly equal numbers and usually appears in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood
- Explains that stanford school of medicine considers biological disease to be the cause of ocd. villanova university agrees that genetics are a main cause, but stresses can trigger the onset or recurrence.
- Explains that ocd can run in families, but it is not clear why some people have it and others don't. researchers are exploring the relationship between genetics, stress and environmental factors in the search for a cause.
- Opines that as more research is conducted about fear and anxiety in the brain, better drug treatments may be developed.
- Explains that psychotherapy includes cognitive behavior therapy (cbt) which teaches patients how to curtail or stop intrusive thoughts and compulsive behavior.
- Explains that the national institute of mental health is advocating research involving new treatments such as combination and augmentation (add-on) treatments, as well as modern techniques like deep brain stimulation.
- Cites ocd research clinic's frequently asked questions about the disorder.
- Cites king, l. a. (2013). experience psychology. united states: mcgraw-hill education.
- Cites the department of psychiatry's obsessive-compulsively disorder (n.d.). nimh rss.
1044 wordsRead More - Obsessive-Compulsive disorderexplanatory essayThe exact cause of OCD is not known, but there are certain factors that contribute to developing the symptoms of the disorder such as genetics, cognitive, biological, and environmental factors (Merril, 2012). There are two diagnostic symptoms of OCD: obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are images or ideas that uncontrollably run through a person’s head that a person may find annoying because it is difficult to shake off. Some examples of obsessions that a person may experience are excessive fear of germs or contamination, constant checking and rechecking, unwanted sexual thoughts or feelings, and concern about symmetry and order (hefkjf). In order to get rid of the obsessive thoughts, sufferers perform certain behaviors repeatedly. These repetitive actions are called compulsions. Doing certain things temporarily gets rid of their distress about their obsessions. But, when t...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that ocd is an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted and uncontrollable thoughts and/or repeating behaviors over and over again.
- Explains that there are two diagnostic symptoms of ocd: obsessions and compulsions. obsessions are images or ideas that uncontrollably run through a person's head that are difficult to shake off.
- Explains that there is no known cure for ocd, but there are different methods used for treatment, such as psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, and medication/drug therapy.
- Explains that ocd is a long-term illness that affects both individuals and the people around them. obsessive thoughts and compulsions can be time-consuming and interfere with daily activities.
762 wordsRead More - Maryam's Case Summaryexplanatory essayMaryam’s obsessive compulsive disorder seems to start after the rape incident when she was only 14 years old. She has waxed and wane symptoms of compulsiveness, due to her repetitive destructive thoughts, any time she faces a stressful event in her life. CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) could be useful for this client. With CBT, the client would be able to reduce pressure due to her repetitive thoughts, also, CBT can teach her to increase her resistance to urges, and, compulsions. Since Maryam is obsessed with cleanliness,
In this essay, the author
- Explains that maryam's major goal was to avoid getting liver cancer. her sub-goals were: decreasing her stress level, working on her fears about germs, and, drinking.
- Explains that maryam has the dsm5 criteria of aud (alcohol use disorder). she needs help to enter to the preparation, and, action stages of change which can be reached by increasing her self-efficacy.
282 wordsRead More