Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Disorders, and the P.A.N.D.A.S. Connection
As someone who's been plagued by an Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Disorder since childhood, I can say it seems hopeless at times. For so long a sufferer feels that what they have isn't a legitimate ailment and that he is alone in his battle. Thankfully, in recent years, more and more research is being done on Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, and more answers are being found.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorders are the fourth most common psychiatric diagnosis. Sometimes the onset of symptoms is sudden, but more often than not it is a gradual progression. Precipitating events that could spur the onset of an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can include emotional stress (domestic or job-related), increased levels of responsibility, health problems, and bereavement. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition, "the essential features of an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are recurrent obsession or compulsions that are severe enough to be time consuming (i.e.: they take more than an hour per day) or cause marked distress or significant impairment. At some point during the course of the disorder, the person has recognized the obsessions or compulsions are excessive or unreasonable. It's important to note that this is difficult concerning children because children tend to not realize that their compulsions are excessive or unreasonable while adults do ((1) .).
People develop compulsions by trying to ignore thoughts or impulses, or by trying to neutralize them with other thoughts or actions. Compulsions are mental acts, and include repeating words, ordering things, hand washing, and various other motions. The goal of these compulsions is to prevent or reduce anxiety.
Because Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI's) such as Prozac, Luvox, Zoloft, and Paxil are effective in controlling Obsessive Compulsive Disorders, it's believed that serotonin regulation is a part of the cause of OCD. Serotonin is a very important chemical messenger in the brain, and plays a role in a person's mood, aggression, impulse control, sleep, appetite, body temperature, and pain. Brain imaging studies have depicted various abnormalities in parts of the brains of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder sufferers. These parts include the caudate nucleus, the basil ganglia, the thalamus, orbital cortex, and cingulated gyrus.
Disorders that have the obsessive compulsive symptoms of intrusive, repetitive behaviors are often called OC Spectrum Disorders. Amongst these include Trichotillomania, Monosyruptomatic Hypochondriasis, Body Dismorphic Disorder, and some eating disorders.
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.
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Unger’s obsessive compulsive disorder which has led to depression and attempted suicide. People with obsessive compulsive disorder suffer from unwanted and often intrusive thoughts that they can’t get out of their heads. They are often compelled to repeatedly do tasks in a ritualistic way in an attempt to eliminate their anxiety. They are most often aware that their obsessions or compulsions are irrational; however, they are still powerless to stop them and may spend countless hours doing these tasks over and over. This can and often does interfere with a person’s normal live and may make them less productive and successful at work, school, socially and even with family. If left untreated OCD will eventually interfere with all aspects of a person’s life
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 (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...
Obsessive compulsive disorder is a psychological disorder with symptoms of obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions, such as cleaning, checking, and counting. OCD is linked to other disorders such as attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and experiential avoidance disorder (EA). OCD and ADHD have similar effects in children being that they both lead to procrastination when trying to complete simple tasks. People with OCD and EA both have consistent negative thoughts but the same treatments can be used for both. 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 partly similar executive functions are affected in both disorders” (Brem et al. 175). OCD and ADHD are very common especially in children and they both have similar effects. People with obsessive compulsive disorder put themselves through a lot more ...
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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.
Compulsions 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...
Levenkron, S. (1991). Treating & Understanding Crippling Habits. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders. New York, NY: Warner Books.
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.
Beginning in 1920 in the form of propaganda on the side of typical consumer items and lasting all the way until mid-1945, Nazi anti-Semitism had been a prominent characteristic of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers’ Party). Nazi anti-Semitism has often been considered an anomaly from the anti-Semitism that Europe had traditionally practiced, because of its deliberate execution of the Jewish Question and the horrific cruelty that took place during the Holocaust. It is no question that Nazi anti-Semitism was remembered for its unmatched hatred of the Jews; however, the influence from European anti-Semitism in the medieval times was heavy. The Nazis’ adoption of the “Jew badge” and psychological and racial grounds for justification of anti-Semitism are only a small percentage of the techniques employed by Nazis’ that were inspired by the traditional European actions against Jews. This essay will discuss whether the Nazis simply continued the strands of European anti-Semitism that were already in place or whether they initiated a revolutionary materialization of a sinister phenomenon.
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...
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.