O - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder #AtoZ #MentalHealthAwareness

Obsessions are thoughts, images or impulses that occur over and over again and feel outside of the person’s control. Compulsions are the second part of obsessive compulsive disorder. These are repetitive behaviors or thoughts that a person uses with the intention of neutralizing, counteracting, or making their obsessions go away.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder that affects people of all ages and walks of life, and occurs when a person gets caught in a cycle of obsessions and compulsions. 

Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images or urges that trigger intensely distressing feelings. Compulsions are behaviors an individual engages in to attempt to get rid of the obsessions and/or decrease his or her distress.

Obsessions are typically accompanied by intense and uncomfortable feelings such as fear, disgust, doubt, or a feeling that things have to be done in a way that is “just right.” In the context of OCD, obsessions are time consuming and get in the way of important activities the person values. This last part is extremely important to keep in mind as it, in part, determines whether someone has OCD — a psychological disorder — rather than an obsessive personality trait.  

Obsessive-compulsive disorder usually includes both obsessions and compulsions. But it's also possible to have only obsession symptoms or only compulsion symptoms.

A few common obsessions are:

·         Contamination

Ø  Germs/disease (examples: herpes, HIV)

Ø  Environmental contaminants (examples: asbestos, radiation)

Ø  Dirt

·         Losing Control

Ø  Fear of acting on an impulse to harm oneself

Ø  Fear of blurting out obscenities or insults

Ø  Fear of stealing things (Kleptomania)

·         Obsessions Related to Perfectionism

Ø  Concern about evenness or exactness

Ø  Inability to decide whether to keep or to discard things

Ø  Fear of losing things

·         Unwanted Sexual Thoughts

·         Religious Obsessions (Scrupulosity)

·         Other Obsessions

Ø  Concern with getting a physical illness or disease (not by contamination, e.g. cancer)

Ø  Superstitious ideas about lucky/unlucky numbers certain colors

Common compulsions include:

Ø  Washing and cleaning everything or certain things

Ø  Checking things again and again

Ø  Mental compulsions

Ø  Repeating

A diagnosis of OCD requires the presence of obsession and/or compulsions that are time-consuming (more than one hour a day), cause major distress, and impair work, social or other important function.

Some individuals with OCD also have a tic disorder. Motor tics are sudden, brief, repetitive movements, such as eye blinking and other eye movements, facial grimacing, shoulder shrugging, and head or shoulder jerking. Common vocal tics include repetitive throat-clearing, sniffing, or grunting sounds.

OCD is typically treated with medication, psychotherapy or a combination of the two.

There's no sure way to prevent obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, getting treatment as soon as possible may help prevent OCD from worsening and disrupting activities and your daily routine.

DISCLAIMER: All the information being provided her has been sourced from the internet and books and some also via personal experiences. It has no medical authentication per se so suggestions if followed must be done in consultation with a trained mental health professional.

References:

https://iocdf.org/about-ocd/

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/index.shtml

This post is a part of April Blogging from A To Z Challenge

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