Overview:
What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or OCD?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a psychological illness that causes repeated unwanted ideas or sensations (obsessions) or the urge to do something over and over again (compulsions).
Some people can have both obsessions and compulsions.
OCD is not about habits like biting your nails or believing negative thoughts. An obsessive thought might be that certain numbers or colors are “good” or “bad”.
A compulsive habit may be to wash your hands seven days after touching something which could be dirty.
Even though you might not wish to do or think these things, you feel powerless to stop.
Everyone has habits or thoughts that repeat sometimes. Individuals with OCD have thoughts or activities that:
- Take up at least an hour per day
- Are outside your control
- Are not pleasurable
- Interfere with work, your social life, or another portion of life
OCD Symptoms and Types:
OCD comes in several forms, but most instances fall into at least one of four general classes:
- Checkings, such as locks, alarm systems, ovens, or light switches, or think you have a medical condition like schizophrenia or pregnancy
- Contamination, a fear of items that might be filthy, or a compulsion to wash. Mental contamination entails feeling like you have been treated like dirt.
- Symmetry and order, the necessity to have things lined up in a certain way
- Ruminations and intrusive thoughts, an obsession with a line of thought. Some of those ideas might be violent or disturbing.
Compulsions and Obsessions:
Many folks that have OCD know that their thoughts and habits do not make sense.
They don’t do them because they like them, but since they can’t stop. And if they stop, they feel really bad that they begin again.
Obsessive ideas can include:
Many people who have OCD know that their thoughts and habits don’t make sense. And if they stop, they feel so bad that they start again.
- Worries on your own or others getting hurt
- Constant awareness of blinking, breathing, or other body sensations
- A suspicion that a partner is unfaithful, with no reason to believe it
- Compulsive habits can comprise:
- Doing jobs in a Particular sequence every time or a particular”good” number of times
- Needing to count things, such as bottles or steps
- Fear of touching doorknobs, using public bathrooms, or shaking hands
OCD Risk Factor and Causes:
Doctors are not sure why some individuals have OCD. Stress can make symptoms worse.
It is a bit more common in women than in men. Symptoms frequently appear in teens or young adults.
OCD risk factor includes:
- Parent or child with OCD
- Depression, anxiety, or tics
- Expertise with injury
- A history of sexual or physical abuse as a child
Occasionally, a kid might have OCD after a streptococcal infection.
This is known as pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections, or PANDAS.
OCD Diagnosis:
Your physician may perform a physical exam and blood tests to make sure something else isn’t causing your symptoms. They’ll also talk with you about your feelings, thoughts, and customs.
OCD Treatments:
There is no treatment for OCD. However, you may have the ability to handle how your symptoms affect your own life through medication, treatment, or a combination of remedies.
Remedies include:
Psychotherapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help alter your thinking patterns.
In a form known as exposure and response prevention, your physician will put you in a situation designed to create anxiety or put off compulsions.
You’ll learn how to lessen and stop your OCD thoughts or actions.
- Relaxation. Simple things like yoga, meditation, and massage can help with stressful OCD symptoms.
- Medication. Psychiatric drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors to assist a lot of men and women restrain obsessions and compulsions.
They may take 2 to 4 months to begin working. Should you still have symptoms, your physician might give you antipsychotic drugs like aripiprazole (Abilify) or risperidone (Risperdal).
- Neuromodulation. In rare situations, when therapy and medication aren’t making a lot of a gap, your physician may speak with you about devices that change the electric activity in a particular section of the brain.
It uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells. A more complicated procedure, deep brain stimulation, uses electrodes that are implanted into your mind.
- TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation). The TMS unit is a non-invasive device that’s held above the head to induce the magnetic field. It targets a specific part of the brain that modulates OCD symptoms.
OCD-Related Conditions:
Some separate conditions are similar to OCD. They involve obsessions with things such as:
- Your appearances (body dysmorphic disorder)
- Collecting, organizing, or ordering items (hoarding disorder)
- Pulling out/eating your own hair (trichotillomania)
- Picking at your own skin (excoriation)
- Physical disorder (hypochondriasis)
- Body odor or how you smell (olfactory reference syndrome)
Ask your friends and loved ones for support.
If you’re feeling anxious or depressed, consider joining a support group or seeking counseling. Believe in your ability to take control of the pain…
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