Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Anxiety disorders and personality disorders, two forms of abnormal behavior, can alter a person’s personality as a result of life experiences. 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.

4, Article 9 Kahn, Ada P., M.P.H., Fawcett, Jan, M.D. Encyclopedia of Mental Health Maple-Vail Book Manufacturing Group New York, NY 1993, pg. 325-328 Kime, Robert E. Grolier Wellness Encyclopedia The Dushkin Publishing Group Inc. Guilfort, CT. 1992 pg. 91, 107-108,109-110 Nichols, Mark "Schizophrenia: Hidden Torment" Maclean's Magazine Jan. 30, 1995 Sirs: Mental Health Vol. 5, Article 22 Patlak, Margie "Real Lives, Imaginary Terror: Schizophrenia" FDA Consumer Sept./Oct.

It is an anxiety disorder whereby a patient has uncontrolled feelings and notions that keep repeating despite the fact that, the individual makes an effort to stop them. This condition causes an individual’s brain to get stuck on a particular thought or urge and the person feels the need to perform them. OCD not only affects the brains, but also a person’s behaviors directly and this affects a person’s healthy living and relationships both at work and at home. The OCD disorder can be identified through compulsions and obsessions. According to the DSM-IV TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), for a person to be diagnosed with OCD, he/she must have compulsions, obsessions or both of them.

It is an irrational fear that takes over someone's mind and prevents them to surmount obstacles in their life. They can range from something as scary as spiders to something as strange as paper-towel rolls. Like Lea Winerman, a writer for American Psychology Association, states, “ All phobias are anxiety disorders, lumped in the same class as post-traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder, among others. And anxiety disorders are, fundamentally, based on fear.” Phobias prevents people from functioning normally and have a healthy life by taking hold of their lives and daily schedules. The effects of having a phobia results in inconveniences in your life, stress, and medical problems in your future.

Furthermore I intend to show that behavior therapy (cognitive based therapy) is another useful tool in helping a person to overcome their OCD. According to the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder foundation (www.ocfoundation.org), “OCD is a medical brain disorder that causes problems in information processing.” They compare OCD to a brain hiccup; the brain gets stuck on a certain thought and cannot move forward. The brain is incapable of dealing with thoughts of worry or doubt. This causes many side effects that can clearly distinguish a person as OCD. The text book for Dr. Steinberg’s Brain and Behavior class (that I took last year)spells it out a little clearer.

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.

This person is most likely affected by OCD. Obsessive compulsive disorder, OCD, is an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted and uncontrollable thoughts (obsessions) and/or repeating certain behaviors over and over again (compulsions) (Baldridge, 2010). OCD affects both men and women equally and it affects about two percent of the population (Placeholder1). Living with OCD is challenging and it greatly affects the life of the person who is suffering, their family, and even their friends. The 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).

Signs and symptoms, treatments, nursing diagnosis, and interventions are very important to recognize and apply to people with this disorder. Body dysmorphic disorder is a mental disorder that makes a person think and feel like their flaws are completely out of control. Katharine Phillips, from the World Psychiatry Journal, stated, “Patients with BDD believe they look ugly or deformed (thinking, for example, that they have a large and 'repulsive' nose, or severely scarred skin), when in reality they look normal” (Phillips, 2004). Signs and symptoms are very hard to see. Some people may have an obsession with looking in the mirror constantly, while others avoid a mirror all together.

Some main types of obsessions that someone with this disorder suffers from are contamination, fear of losing control, harm, and perfectionism. Compulsions are what follow right after the obsessions. They are the repetitive behaviors or thoughts the person does to make the obsessions go away. What’s unfortunate about the obsessions going away is that it is only temporary before the process repeats itself. Now that a basic understanding of what Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is has been established, it’s important next to discuss the two categories, and the possible causes in those categories, that trigger and can even accelerate O.C.D.

Bipolar disorder, as defined by the Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, is a mood disorder that causes a person to suffer extreme emotional changes and shifts in mood. Previously known as manic-depressive disorder, bipolar disorder causes alternate periods of mania and depression. To fully understand the effects of this disease, it is important to comprehend the meanings of mania and depression. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines mania as “excitement manifested by mental and physical hyperactivity, disorganization of behavior, and elevation of mood.” Depression, on the other hand, is defined as “a psychiatric disorder characterized by an inability to concentrate, insomnia, loss of appetite, feelings of extreme sadness, guilt, helplessness and hopelessness, and thoughts of death.” (Merriam-Webster). The combination of the two results in emotional chaos.