Living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder – OCD

The primary symptoms that are frequently mentioned as examples are checking and cleaning, but there is an unending number of other symptoms as well. Additionally, the gravity of OCD and how it affects the majority of people on a continuous basis.

People who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder frequently have uncontrollable obsessions or compulsions that they feel forced to repeatedly engage in. These compulsions and obsessions may interfere with your day-to-day activities, such as job, school, and personal relationships.

OCD symptoms and signs

Obsessions, compulsions, or both may be present in individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The severity of the symptoms can range from mild to severe, and they typically develop worse under stress.

Obsessions include excessive dread of germs or contamination, taboo or unwanted ideas about sex, religion, or harm, fantasies of injuring oneself or another despite having no real desire to do so, and a need for symmetry or perfect order.

The following are examples of common compulsions:

• Overly washing or cleansing your hands;
• Ordering or arranging things in a certain way;
• Constantly checking on certain things, like making sure the oven is off;
• Attempting to think only “acceptable” thoughts;
• Compulsively counting.

A person with OCD also frequently: • Cannot control their thoughts or behaviors; • Spends at least one hour every day dealing with these uncontrollable thoughts or behaviors.

• Has major difficulty in daily life as a result of their obsessive thoughts or compulsive activities;
• Does not like the behaviors or rituals but may experience a momentary sense of relief from the distress the thoughts create

Some OCD sufferers also have tic disorders that include vocal or physical tics. Motor tics include quick, brief, repetitive motions including head or shoulder jerking, grimacing, blinking and other eye movements, and shoulder shrugging. Vocal tics frequently manifest as repeated throat clearing, sniffing, or grunting.

OCD Risk Factors and Causes Scientists are still unsure of OCD’s precise causes. However, the following risk factors could be a factor in the illness.

• Genetics OCD can run in families in some cases. If you have a parent, sibling, or child who has OCD, your risk of having the condition increases. If your relative had OCD as a child or adolescent, your risk is increased.

• Brain Organization: Scientists are still trying to figure out how OCD symptoms and variations in certain brain regions are related. OCD sufferers’ frontal cortex and subcortical brain structures differ on average from those of OCD sufferers, according to imaging studies.
• Early Childhood Trauma: Despite the fact that many OCD sufferers never suffered major childhood trauma, certain studies have established a connection between early childhood trauma and OCD symptoms.
• Childhood Streptococcal Infections: Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections, or PANDAS, are autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders that can occasionally lead to children developing OCD or OCD symptoms.

To determine whether you have OCD, your healthcare professional may employ a variety of techniques. These consist of:

• Psychological Assessment To establish whether your obsessions or compulsive behaviors are affecting your quality of life, your doctor will ask you to discuss your thoughts, feelings, symptoms, and behavior patterns.
• Medical Checkup To ensure that you don’t have any additional health issues that might be the source of your symptoms, your doctor may perform an examination .
• OCD Diagnostic Criteria The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) issued by the American Psychiatric Association may be used by your doctor to determine whether you fulfill the criteria for OCD.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder prognosis

Typically, OCD symptoms develop gradually and change in intensity over the course of a lifetime. Your compulsions and obsessions may evolve over time.

The majority of OCD sufferers benefit with treatment, yet many still experience symptoms.

OCD is often seen as a chronic condition that lasts a lifetime. (3) Symptoms could reappear, get better over time, or get worse.

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The Diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a type of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) that involves spending time in the environment that causes your compulsions (such as touching filthy objects) but not engaging in the customary follow-up compulsion (such as hand-washing), has been shown to be effective in reducing compulsive behaviors in OCD.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Psychotherapy

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a type of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) that involves spending time in the environment that causes your compulsions (such as touching filthy objects) but not engaging in the customary follow-up compulsion (such as hand-washing), has been shown to be effective in reducing compulsive behaviors in OCD.

In order to understand and eventually give up the behaviors that interfere with their everyday life, patients with obsessive compulsive disorder may benefit from exposure therapy, according to Noah Clyman, a licensed clinical social worker and the director of NYC Cognitive Therapy, a private psychotherapy practice.

“I advise patients that they will learn numerous things when they confront distressing events and they stay in the situation for enough time without fleeing or engaging in rituals,” he says. They will discover that the feeling of anxiety passes. In actuality, it declines even in the absence of ritualizing, escaping, or avoiding. Additionally, they’ll discover that as their fear diminishes, so does their desire to ritualize and flee the circumstance.

Here are few certified therapists who you can get in touch and book a therapy session with:

• Laura Dee
• Enfys Jones
• Dr Simon Cassar