Introduction
The brain is a complex system with huge hidden potential to think and perform multiple tasks beyond imagination.
However, along with this brain’s unique capacity, it is also a fragile and delicate system, which can easily get affected by its surroundings. This may often contribute to multiple psychological disorders in human beings.
Human beings mostly undermine some psychological disorders such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCD). OCD treatment was often considered an unimportant matter.
Therefore, it is essential to spread awareness about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to know about the risk of the issue and the benefits of the treatments to eradicate this issue. To know about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, one must understand, what is obsession & compulsion?
Obsession is a powerful and impactful thought or idea that often controls the brain and triggers the brain to focus on the obsessing idea or thought continuously. At the same time, compulsion is a state of action, which is done repeatedly by forcing or being forced by someone.
Every person on this planet is or was obsessed with something. However, every obsession won’t make a person a victim of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
However, some obsessions are severe and dangerous because of the intensity of the ideas or thoughts, which compel the person to do certain activities which creates a visible change in the person’s behavior or harms the person.
Obsession can be anything; it can be a minor incident or a significant fear of something. The impact of obsessions varies from person to person, so as the effect of OCD.
What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of mental illness. In OCD, a person develops specific repeated thoughts which are known as the “obsessions”. This obsession causes him/her to perform certain repeated routines which generates distress to a great extent.
This repeated routine is known as the “compulsions” of the person, because of which the person is unable to control either activities or the flow of the thoughts for a more extended period.
Some of the most common compulsions include-
Continuously washing the hand or any utensils or clothes
Counting the things continuously
Checking various things such as door locks, counting a specific item, or checking the switches continuously
Continuously cleaning and arranging things
Impact of OCD
The compulsions often occur to such a great extent that the person’s daily life is negatively affected, as they start consuming a lot of time in doing their daily works. This also delays the individual’s sleep, which causes sleep phase syndrome at a substantially higher rate than general people.
What are the conditions associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
People having OCD may often be diagnosed with other conditions as well, these conditions include-
Major depressive disorder
Bipolar disorder
Social anxiety disorder
Transformation obsession
Autism spectrum disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Body dysmorphic disorder
Trichotillomania, which is hair pulling issue
Dermatillomania, which is the compulsive skin picking
Causes of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder-
Genetics
Chemical imbalance
Stress and tension
Auto-immune conditions, where the body’s response to a Paediatric Auto-immune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infection is affected.
Apart from this, certain drugs can induce OCD in patients; one among them is olanzapine (Zyprexa), the second-generation atypical antipsychotics.
How can OCD be diagnosed?
OCD patients are often aware of their behavior, and they often feel unhappy about it. However, they still feel compelled by those obsessions. Therefore, the best method to diagnose OCD is self-identification.
The following methods are proven to be effective to manage OCD over the years-
Therapy
OCD treatments which involve various specific techniques have often played a significant role to overcome this problem.
The exposure and response prevention (ERP) method tries to teach the person to control fear and anxiety by coming into contact with the situations that trigger the obsessive thoughts.
This often helps the individuals overcome the compulsive acts associated with the obsession, thereby increasing their tolerance and ability to open up to discomfort and anxiety associated with not performing the ritualistic behavior.
Medication
Medicines such as Clomipramine, which is a tricyclic antidepressant have proven to work for such individuals.
Procedures
Procedures such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and surgeries are effective in some severe and refractory cases.
Intensive care
OCD often occurs because of stress and tensions. Therefore intensive care is another way to overcome OCD.
Conclusion
Like many other disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCD) can also be curable. The best way to cure this problem is by identifying and understanding the entire disorder. Therefore, this disorder can be overcome and can be treated accurately through proper awareness and proper understanding.
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