What is OCD? Here are answers to all your queries
We all have heard about OCD, but we exactly don’t know everything about most common psychological disorder. And for getting knowledge of this field you didn’t need any specialisation. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviours (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over. So, what is OCD? Well, here is all you need to know about it.
Related : Are You Suffering From OCD ?
A person suffering unable to control their actions to which they are addicted to. We all suffers from worries but over worries can ruin your life. While many people encounter nagging worries, such as forgetting to turn-off the coffee pot, the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder become so pronounced that it affects a person’s ability to carry out normal everyday tasks.
Symptoms of OCD
Just to know about this disorder it is very important to about its symptoms. Here are few symptoms of OCD that will give you better understanding about this disorder. Not surprisingly, the 10 most common symptoms associated with the disorder stem from a root cause of anxiety.
As per U.S. National Library of Medicine, most people are affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder begin to experience symptoms by the age of 30. The cause of the condition remains unknown, though genetics appears to have some influence on whether a person will develop the disorder. Other suspected causes include head injuries, infections and abnormal activity in certain areas of the brain.
1. Obsessions – An uncontrollable thought or behaviour is actually an obsession that consumes the person’s attention. You are unable to control your obsession. Even nobody can control it. For most people affected by obsessive-compulsive disorder, these obsessions are unwanted and over-powering.
2. Rituals – With the passage of time, obsessions turn into ritual behaviors that impair a person’s ability to function in everyday life. If your obsession becomes your ritual it becomes almost impossible to carry out a task.
3. Hoarding – Hoarding are those behaviours that involve stockpiling anything and everything or certain types of items in particular. Hoarding is done in an effort to relieve fears that something bad will happen if they throw something away.
4. Checking and re-checking – This is most common symptom of this disorder and you can easily relate to it. For someone with obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive thoughts related to danger or harm drive them to check and re-check things, such as whether the stove is turned off or to ensure a lock is secure.
5. Washing – Indeed washing is a good habit but at the same time if you are addicted to it. It can be really dangerous. One of the more commonly known symptoms associated with this condition, fear of germs or contamination drive a person to wash their hands repeatedly, multiple times a day.
6. Ruminating about relationships – You constantly go over every aspect of your relationships – romantic, friendships, family, co-workers. You replay interactions in your mind, looking at every remark and comment, trying to find hidden meanings in what others say or reviewing what you have said, sure you said something wrong. Patients of OCD are too possessive for their relationships.
7. Cleaning – Just like hand washing, excessive cleaning usually stems from a fear of germs and contamination. This is another type of disorder. You clean your house excessively and become agitated when your children invite friends over, needing to clean every surface they touched during their visit. Like hand washing, your anxiety is eased for a short while but returns more intensely.
8. Sexual thoughts – People with OCD often have intrusive sexual thoughts. They tend to think about sex. They might imagine themselves being sexually inappropriate with co-workers, neighbours or people on the street.
Treatment of OCD
There are treatment available to OCD. You just need to know about its proper method. Here, are what you can do in order to treat OCD.
1.Discuss your treatment options. Once you have a confirmed diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder, you should ask your mental health provider about different treatment approaches. OCD can best treated by therapies.
2. Find out which forms of therapy are available to you. Previously, OCD was thought to be resistant to treatment. Most recently, there are a variety of therapeutic approaches developed to treat the disorder. So take a help of therapist to treat this disorder.Treatment that are available are: Cognitive/Behavioral (CBT) and a type of CBT called Exposure/Response Prevention (ERP) therapies. These therapies are geared towards helping a person with OCD manage obsessive thoughts and also exposing him or her to distressing situations.
3. Join a support group: Support groups are often led by therapists who are trained to treat OCD or by individuals who have conquered the symptoms of OCD. Participating in a group format can help you feel less alone with the disorder and even teach you helpful tips about how others manage their symptoms.
