Obsessive compulsive disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a serious anxiety-related condition that affects as many as three in a hundred people – from young children to older adults - regardless of gender and social or cultural background. Sufferers often go undiagnosed for many years, partially because of a lack of understanding of the condition, and partially because of the intense feelings of embarrassment, guilt and sometimes even shame associated with what is often called the ‘secret illness’.

 

 

 

 

 

Symptoms

OCD can take many forms, but, in general, sufferers experience repetitive, intrusive and unwelcome thoughts, images, impulses and doubts which they find hard to ignore. These thoughts form the obsessional part of ‘Obsessive-Compulsive’ and they usually (but not always) cause the person to perform repetitive compulsions in a vain attempt to relieve themselves of the obsessions and neutralise the fear. Some sufferers will have the obsessions but no physical outward compulsions – a form of OCD often called ‘Pure O’.

Common obsessions include contamination and germs, causing harm to oneself or to others, upsetting sexual, violent or blasphemous thoughts, the ordering or arrangement of objects and worries about throwing things away.

Sufferers try to fight these thoughts with mental or physical rituals, the compulsions, which involve repeatedly performing actions such as washing, cleaning, checking, counting, hoarding or partaking in endless rumination. Avoidance of feared situations is also common; however, this often results in further worrying and preoccupation with the obsessional thoughts.

Most sufferers know that their thoughts and behaviour are irrational and senseless, but feel incapable of stopping them. This has a significant impact on their confidence and self-esteem and as a result, their careers, relationships and lifestyles.

Causes

While there is no known specific cause for OCD, family history and chemical imbalances in the brain are thought to contribute to the development of the illness. Generally, while people who have relatives with OCD are at a higher risk of developing the disorder, most people with the illness have no such family history. A specific chromosome/gene variation has been found to possibly double the likelihood of a person developing OCD. It is thought that an imbalance of the chemical serotonin in the brain may also contribute to the development of OCD.

When is it right to seek help

Learn as much as you can about OCD. Knowing how and why this disorder begins, will help you understand and perhaps help one who suffers from this disorder, be supportive, patient, positive and consistent. When you engage these qualities with someone who has OCD, you help them to relax and be open with how they are doing. 

Make sure that the OCDer has information about his or her state of health. Some people who have OCD don't know why, how or when it all began, if the OCDer is in the family, try not to change the routine too much. Hold fast to your regular way of living, but let the sufferer of OCD know that you're there for him or her, if and when they need help.

See if therapy for the OCDer is available. Talk with them about seeing a doctor--see if they're receptive to this and if so, make an appointment for them. Better yet, see if they can make that appointment. Allow the person with OCD to be who they are; try not to tell them what to do and how to do it, but let them know in a gentle way that they're doing better and keep encouraging them to be aware of their behavior, but don't belittle them or "hound" them on the "right" way to do things. They are quite aware that they have a problem and they may be doing everything they can to make progress...

Treatments

Most individuals with OCD experience some symptoms of the disorder indefinitely, with times of improvement alternating with times of difficulty. However, the prognosis is most favorable for OCD sufferers who have milder symptoms that last for less time and who have no other problems before developing this illness.

Treatments include cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral therapies, and medications. Behavioral therapies for OCD include ritual prevention and exposure therapy. Ritual prevention involves a mental-health professional helping the OCD sufferer to endure longer and longer periods of resisting the urge to engage in compulsive behaviors. Exposure therapy is the process by which the individual with OCD is put in touch with situations that tend to increase the OCD sufferer's urge to engage in compulsions, then helping him or her resist that urge. Cognitive/behavioral therapists help patients change the negative styles of thinking and behaving that are often associated with the anxiety involved with obsessive compulsive disorder. 

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