The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? I’m sure that most everyone has seen different news shows or talk shows where you see the person washing their hands until they bleed, or go back and forth into the house to double, triple, quadruple check something. A person may walk around their house making sure everything is “in its place” and not stop until a level of perfect is reached but often perfection in their eyes is never achieved. Magazines and books need to be parallel to the table they are on and of course the table must be parallel with the rest of the furniture in the room. These are just a few examples of behaviors that are demonstrated when a person has OCD. If you are facing this illness, you may feel alone but in reality, nearly 1 in 50 adults in the United States currently has OCD and twice that number have had it at some point in their lives (OC Foundation). The OC Foundation also has listed many common obsessions and common compulsions to give you an idea of what symptoms these individuals have: Common Obsessions Common Compulsions 1. Contamination fears of germs, dirt, ECT. Washing 2. Imagining having harmed self or others Repeating 3. Imagining losing control of aggressive urges Checking 4. Intrusive sexual thoughts or urges Touching 5. Excessive religious or moral doubt Counting 6. Forbidden thoughts ... ... middle of paper ... ...to survive the day in class. Keeping the doors of communication open with the student’s parents is also important. They can help you to understand what areas the individual has more specific problems with and informed of any dramatic change in the family or individual life. The most important thing you can do as an educator for students with OCD is the same as your other students, show them that you care. WORKS CITED Bickel, E. (1984) Living with Compulsive Behaviors, Zondervan Publishing House Sebastian, R. (1993) The Encyclopedia of Health: Compulsive Behavior, Chelsea House Publishers Tallis, F. (1995) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Cognitive and Neuropsychological Perspective, John Wiley and Sons Llt. “Choices” November/December 2004, Scholastic publications http://www.ocfoundation.org
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.
...bsessive-compulsive disorder: An examination of outcome and mediators of change. Journal Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology, 81(3), 415-428. doi:10.1037/a0031865
Regina is a 20 year-old single female who is struggling to obtain her business degree at a mid-sized university. In the last two and a half years she has only received 26 credit hours. Seeing that she is having problems, her adviser along with her parents, suggested that she attend therapy. Regina is frequently having anxiety about germs and performing certain rituals in order to lessen her anxiety. In order to be comfortable in her classes, she feels she must arrive early, find a specific desk on a certain row, and thoroughly clean the desk and seat before she can be seated. Also, before she can leave her off-campus apartment in the morning, she is finding herself spending more and more time cleaning her apartment, then showering and getting dressed, and then cleaning the bathroom thoroughly. Regina also has found herself fearful of eating in restaurants and going to eat at family and friends homes. Her fear of germs is intensifying and prohibiting her from having adequate relationships. This is leaving her to feel quite isolated and lonely.
of the biology of behavior in vague terms. The effect of a drug, and the
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...
middle of paper ... ... It is very important to try to treat OCD and not just ignore it. According to the article, there are certain interactive online activities for children to help treat OCD. These games are played with parents and therapists for the child to have a better understanding of the treatment methods.
Black, D. W. (2007) A Review of Compulsive Buying Disorder. World Psychiatry Journal. February 2007. 6(1): 14-18
Jakubovski, E., Diniz, J. B., Valerio, C., Fossaluza, V., Belotto-Silva, C., Gorenstein, C., …Shavitt, R. G. (2013). Clinical predictors of long-term outcome in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 30, 763-772. doi 10.1002/da.22013
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.
...serious life decisions that are very hard on them without OCD and those who have it becomes extremely more difficult. I believe more research should be done in trying to find a cause for OCD and research done to try and find a cure. If this can be done many young lives could benefit and be able to live the life they want and not the life forced upon them because of their disorder. Knowledge gaps that need to be filled are more recognition that OCD is a serious problem and can lead to many other things. As I stated earlier some people may not take it as serious that should and that just comes with education of the subject. In all I believe that OCD should get serious attention as not only a mental disorder but as a serious health problem. In the future I hope to see more effective prevention and intervention methods introduced to ease the pain of millions of patients.
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.
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). 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 (nimh.org). 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 (nimh.gov). In order to get rid of the obsessive thoughts, sufferers perform certain behaviors repeatedly. These repetitive actions are called compulsions (familydoctor.org). Doing certain things temporarily gets rid of their distress about their obsessions. But, when the thoughts come back, they repeat their rituals all over again . People with OCD feel that they must perform these rituals
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is defined as an anxiety disorder where a person has recurrent unwanted ideas or impulses (called obsessions) and an urge or compulsion to do something to relieve the discomfort caused by the obsession (Mental Health Network, 2000). The obsessive thought range from the idea of losing control, to themes surrounding religion or keeping things or parts of one’s body clean all the time. Compulsions are behaviors that help reduce the anxiety surrounding the obsessions. 90% of the people who have OCD have both obsessions and compulsions. The thoughts and behaviors a person with OCD has are senseless, repetitive, distressing, and sometimes harmful, but they are also difficult to overcome.
First of all, medications are a good way to treat OCD. One medication that can be used to treat OCD is antidepressants. Works Cited Charles, Katie. "Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a leading cause of disability worldwide, with causes not yet fully understood. " New York Daily News [New York] 21 July 2013: 2.
There are many symptoms that lead to the conclusion that someone is suffering from OCD. A person may have a fear of germs, wanting things to be in perfect order constantly, and unwanted thoughts. The compulsions in OCD are the acts that a person feels obliged to do and this may include repeatedly washing hands, excessively cleaning and washing hands and counting regularly. Life with OCD is generally hard and the sufferer generally does not get any relief or satisfaction until they are able to perform their rituals (National Institute of Mental health,