Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disabling anxiety disorder. If anyone has OCD, he may fear that everything he touches is contaminated with germs, and in order to ease that fear, you repeatedly wash your hands. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) usually begins in adolescence or young adulthood and is seen in as many as 1 in 200 children and adolescents. For many years, mental health professionals thought of OCD as a rare disease because only a small minority of their patients had the condition. The disorder often went unrecognized because many of those afflicted with OCD, in efforts to keep their repetitive thoughts and behaviors secret, failed to seek treatment.
Causes
Some medical researchers believe that OCD is a result of changes in your body's own natural chemistry. Some reports associate OCD with head trauma or infections. Many believe that all anxiety disorders are associated with feeling a lack of control that can be traced to the experience of insecure attachment in infancy and early childhood. OCD often occurs in people who have other anxiety disorders, depression, Tourette syndrome, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, substance abuse, eating disorders, and certain personality disorders. Approximately 20 to 40 percent of adolescents with OCD also experience one or more types of eating disorders, which will also require treatment.
Symptoms
OCD symptoms involving obsessions may include:
* Fear of being contaminated by shaking hands or by touching objects * Doubts that you have locked the door or turned off the stove * Repeated thoughts that you have hurt someone in a traffic accident * Intense distress when objects aren't orderly, lined up properly or facing the right way * Images of hurting your child * Impulses to shout obscenities in inappropriate situations * Avoidance of situations that can trigger obsessions, such as shaking hands * Replaying pornographic images in your mind * Dermatitis because of frequent hand washing * Skin lesions because of picking at the skin * Hair loss or bald spots because of hair pulling
Treatment
Effective treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder are available, and research is yielding new, improved therapies that can help most people with OCD and other anxiety disorders lead productive, fulfilling lives.
A therapist will work with the person to identify his or her unreasonable obsessions and will help him or her realize that the effects of their thoughts are not catastrophic. The aim is to teach people to control their anxiety without relying on ritualized behavior.
The first medication considered is usually a type of antidepressant called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). These drugs include fluvoxamine (Luvox), fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), and citalopram (Celexa).
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder which includes unwanted thoughts and repetitive behavior like hand washing, counting, cleaning or checking. These rituals provide temporary relief and if they are not performed, anxiety is increased. If you have OCD, you have repeated upsetting thoughts known as obsessions. You perform the same thing repeatedly - this is compulsive behavior. Examples are a fear of being hurt. It tends to run in families.
[a]Causes of OCD: Doctors are not absolutely sure of the causes of OCD. People believe that all anxiety disorders are associated with feeling a lack of control that go back to insecure attachments in childhood. This insecure attachment can produce changes in the brain and may happen to generations in one family. OCD is known to be a medical disorder and is not the fault of a person with a weak or unstable personality.
[b]Symptoms: Some of the symptoms of OCD include turning the lights or the stove off or locking the door, lacking will power when it comes to shopping, compulsive gamblers or substance abuse. When alcohol or tobacco is a part of your life, you feel anxiety and you are compelled to use them even though they are harmful. You could be a compulsive worker without a break or a compulsive eater or exerciser.
[c]Prevention: Early treatment can prevent future problems. Watch for symptoms of OCD and prevent a relapse by sticking to your therapy and taking medicines that are prescribed. Take care of yourself and involve family members in your treatment. Communicate with your family and loved ones. Reduce stress in your life. Take slow, deep breaths. Listen to soothing music and soak yourself in a warm bath. Try yoga, eat a balanced diet and stick to an exercise routine.
[d]Treatment: Apart from medication which you can discuss with your doctor, there are types of counseling available that could be effective in treating OCD. Treatment includes a combination of professional counseling and medicines. Depending on the severity of your symptoms, your doctor may prescribe both counseling and an anti-depressant. You may be asked to write down a list of rituals and then expose yourself to each obsession in order to overcome them.
If you are suffering from this disorder, then you will go back home, check to see that you did actually shut off the stove and leave again only to return in a little while to check the stove again. A victim knows that the stove is off but his thoughts and actions work against his mind.
Cognitive therapy is one of the most successful obsessive compulsive disorder treatments available. This treatment works with the individual's mind rather than his mood. Since it focuses on thought patterns and helps the patient exercise his brain, this is an ideal obsessive compulsive disorder treatment. However, cognitive therapy is not the best approach as a treatment for conditions like depression and bipolar disorder. You see, these are mood disorders that hinge on an individual's emotions rather than his cognitive functioning. You can definitely reap the benefits of using cognition as an obsessive compulsive disorder treatment, even if it is difficult to think yourself out of a mood.
A cognitive approach for obsessive compulsive disorder treatment is a good first step in gaining control of the thought patterns that lead to the behavior patterns. An individual can find that the repetitive behavior and craving for order diminish significantly once the thoughts are under control. The individual will gradually function on a relatively normal basis with a regular obsessive compulsive disorder treatment.
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