More handpicked essays just for you.
Dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder
Dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder
Dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
This essay will introduce some similarities and differences between both symptoms and experiences of six different authors who have been personally affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Since OCD is not very well understood by many members of the public ("Escape"), I hope that the experiences of the authors that I researched will be able to paint a vivid picture of what life with OCD is like. Obsessive-compulsive disorder involves a chemical imbalance in the brain. This chemical imbalance is thought to be the main reason for obsessions and compulsions, although there may be other factors as well. Nearly one in every fifty people suffers from symptoms of OCD ("Escape"), and approximately 5 million Americans are affected by it (George 82+). To be diagnosed with OCD, an individual must suffer from obsessions and compulsions that actually interfere with their daily lives (Lanning 58+). The authors of the essays that I read all suffered from one form or another of OCD. Robin Belinda Street is a freelance writer, wife, and aunt. Marc Summers is a 45-year-old husband, father, and TV show host of Nickelodeon's Double Dare. Elizabeth N. is a 17-year-old student and basketball player. Amy George is also a teenage student. Gabrielle Bauer is a new mother. The author of "Escape From the Manhole" is a husband, father, and graduate student. These authors of varying ages and life experiences all share a common fate. We can learn about their condition by comparing how these unique individuals experienced their common bond. There are several common symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder that I observed throughout the essays. One of these symptoms was repetition. In "Secret Rituals," George explains that "[she] started having to do everything in threes" (82+). Elizabeth N. wrote, "I'd have to do everything over and over again" (Lanning 58+). Street also notes that "[she] found [herself] repeatedly checking to see if [her] coffeemaker was turned off" (72+). Another common symptom was cleanliness. Summers talks about how he would spend hours in the shower after being thrown into some weird substance on his TV show (139+). Elizabeth N. points out that she wouldn't wear clothes that she thought were contaminated (Lanning 58+). In addition, George admits, "I could think I was clean one second and dirty the next" (82+). Another area of major s... ... middle of paper ... ...is psychologist determined that there were probably psychological factors involved with the author's obsessions as well as the OCD ("Escape"). This author's unique experiences and beliefs show us that OCD like many other disorders is not something that can always be clearly defined. Obsessive-compulsive disorder has many common symptoms and experiences that along with it, but it is not completely cut-and-dry for every individual. The authors of these essays have gone through many hard times and want others to be informed about their disorder. Through their personal stories, I hope we have all learned a little more about what life with OCD is all about. Works Cited Bauer, Gabrielle. “A Little Obsessive.” Chatelaine (journal article) “Escape from the Manhole.” Confessions of a Sex Addict (article on the web) George, Amy. “Secret Rituals, OCD Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Life out of Control.” Teen . (magazine article) Lanning, Rebecca. “My Life was Out of Control.” Teen . (magazine article) Street, Robin Belinda. “Prisoner of Fear.” Good Housekeeping . (magazine article) Summers, Marc. “Mister Clean.” People Weekly . . . etc. . . . (magazine article)
Some symptoms are anxiety about time, cleanliness, and worry about money, which causes them to work more than needed. Causes of OCPD is not entirely clear, but psychologist believe it is a combination of genetics and environment. One of the scenes that display OCPD was when Joan and her maids were cleaning her house and one of her maids neglected to move a pot when she waxed the floor, which caused a ring of dirt and Joan said, “I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at the dirt.” then her current boyfriend showed up and she disregarded the dirt ring. Another prime example was at the beginning of the movie when she was getting ready for bed or for the day, not exactly clear about it, but it showed her vigorously washing her hands, face, and body in general with scalding hot
Just Checking by Emily Colas showcases what it’s like to live with an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Written in a journal-like format the reader sees what her day-to-day life is like from her perspective. One of the most significant hindrances to her disease is the affect it has on her relationship with her husband. Certain aspects of her disease make it difficult for her and her husband to maintain a healthy and normal marriage.
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
In the case of Marjorie, she is a 24-year-old, single Caribbean American female who lives in the home with her mother and her two younger sisters. When she was 15 years old Marjorie’s father died. Marjorie is unmarried, has no children, and is employed part time. (Plummer, 2013). Since she had already received a definitive diagnosis of OCD by a psychiatrist, and had been initially prescribed Zoloft, (Plummer, 2013) I would begin by educating her about OCD, explaining that OCD is often shared with other disorders usually treated by mental health counselors such as depression or substance abuse; and explain that its onset usually occurs in the adolescent or college years (Noshirvani, Kasvikis, Marks, & Tsakirvis, 1991). (Spengler, n.d). Marjorie’s onset begun when she was a teenager and escalated once her father passed. As the worker being assigned to her case I would use Exposure theory as well as cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Marjorie is fearful of germs; through exposure therapy Marjorie could face her fears of germs by being exposed in a systematic and secure way to certain objects that she feels carries germs (Spengler, n.d) She could then safely address, dispell and face those fears. Allowing her to slowly move at a pace that is comfortable for her, by
In 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.
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...
The Boy who couldn’t stop Washing written by DR. Judith Rapoport, published by Penguin books in 1989, containing 292 pages, deals with obsessive compulsive disorder. Dr. Rapoport is a psychiatrist who specializes in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In this, book she reveals new drug treatments, new methods in diagnosis and behaviorist therapies. This is done through the study of her patients and their disorders. Rapoport has revealed this secret disease and hopes to bring and understanding about it to all that may suffer from it and to anyone who may want to be informed. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about OCD. It may help those who face this disease everyday of their lives, and make them realize they are not alone. Also will aid in those who do not know much about this disease and give them and understanding and be aware that it surrounds us.
This case paper is about Lucinda, a 20-year old single female, who suffers from the Cleaning/Contamination Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) condition since she was very young. She is characterized by intrusive thoughts, images, and/or impulses that cause distress (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors that are performed to neutralize these intrusions (Coles, Schofield & Pietrefesa, 2006), i.e. her repetitive cleaning and washing behaviors. Her anxiety became so excessive that it interfered with her daily life. She perceived that some undesirable object(s), in this case the germs, were still on the things that she will come in contact with, even after she had repeatedly washing and/or cleaning them. Her anxiety further degraded both her social and occupational functioning, which resulted in considerable impacts to herself, her friends and family. In additions, her anxiety also caused her not be able to function to her fullest potential academically and to socialize with her friends and family as much as she wanted to.
According to sufferer, Stephanie, “If I got to number 17 on the math test, I would have to tap my pencil 17 times” (Weiskopf 19). Stephanie exhibits signs of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder in which the individual becomes obsessed or compulsive about something. Because of their extreme focus events and tasks, OCD will affect how children and teenagers perform in school. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder can also cause various problems in their daily lives. Due to severe obsessions and compulsions, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a serious, yet unexamined, threat to teenagers at school and home, which can lead to further complications, but it can be treated.
The DSM-V was very useful in aiding to diagnose Howie Mandel with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The diagnostic criteria listed in the DSM-V for this disease states that obsessions and/or compulsions must be present. In the case of Mandel, both of these aspects are present as mentioned above. Mandel displayed obsessive thoughts concerning germs along with associated obsessions to refrain from contact with germs and compulsions such rechecking locked doors. Another criteria is that these obsessions/compulsions be time consuming which I also discussed above. The several symptoms that Mandel displayed did not seem to fit any other disease listed in the DSM-V.
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.
OCD is a clinical disorder with “recurrent, intrusive thoughts, images, or impulses that are experienced as ego-dystonic and extremely distressing” (Barrera & Norton, 2011). Evidence suggests that OCD and other similar disorders stem from the deliberate avoidance of noetic interruptions. As these interruptive thought processes appear more frequently, the afflicted individual perceives them as a personal image that exhibits a high incompatibility with their current personality. In an attempt to prevent those negative thoughts from becoming reality, people with OCD develop rituals and routines to “not think about” certain intrusive thoughts (Belloch, Morillo & Garcia-Soriano, 2009). While they initially start out as fleeting thoughts, intrusive thoughts can develop into full scale obsessions. What was or...
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.
But it was the nature of the behaviors that differentiated the disorder that Mr. Landau had come to in it that he was not obsessed with order but obsessions and compulsions to remove intrusive thoughts leading to the diagnosis obsessive-compulsive disorder (Comer, 127). Of note comes that Mr. Landau had displayed modest symptoms of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder in it that study habits had taken precedence over hygiene, that the behavior was not caused by intrusive thoughts but that of perfection. Also of note comes that OCD often tends to come associated with another mental disorder and thus often makes the diagnosis comorbid, a point that could definitively show OCPD alongside OCD as a major possibility (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,