Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized as a person’s obsession with certain rituals in order to neutralize
intrusive thoughts. It is a serious anxiety disorder.
Recurrent and constant impulses, thoughts or images are experienced.
The person tries to suppress or ignore these thoughts, images or impulses through another action or thought.
Sometimes the person recognizes his thoughts and regards them as obsession but he is unable to remedy it alone.
There is also the tendency to exaggerate minor details.
Signs of this disorder are repetitive mental acts or behavior that the person feels he should
perform in order to respond to his obsession. These mental acts and behavior are often aimed in reducing distress
of the individual.
What are the symptoms of OCD?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is manifested in many ways. In the 1997 movie “As Good As It Gets”,
Jack Nicholson portrays a person suffering from OCD. Another movie features Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Aviator.”
Symptoms include constantly hand washing and counting techniques (like counting in fives, grouping
objects in threes). There’s also counting the steps from destination A to destination B. Those affected also tend to
align objects in right angles.
People with OCD try to cancel their bad thoughts and replace them with good thoughts. When they imagine that
they are harming a child, they replace it with the child playing happily so that the previous thought can
be canceled out.
There are also sexual obsessions. Examples are the fear of being homosexual or a pedophile. In these cases,
the sufferers obsess whether they are or are not aroused by people of the same sex or children.
There is also the fear of contamination. Affected people fear the human body secretions of others, such as
sweat; saliva, tears or mucus can cause them harm.
There is also the need for the body to always be balance. In our movie examples, Jack Nicholson evades cracks on
the floor just as Leonardo DiCaprio is seen walking with a cane.
People with OCD know that these behavior and thoughts are irrational but they are still compelled to continue them.
If not, they undergo constant feelings of dread or panic.
It is important to note that people with OCD display different behaviors than those people who have
gambling problems or are over-eaters. People with OCD typically do not experience pleasure from their rituals.
Treatment for OCD
There is no cure for obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, anti-depressants can lessen the panic,
anxiety and worry that are triggered when a particular ritual has not been done.
Medications include SSRIs like paroxetine, sertraline, flouoxetine and fluvoxamine. There are also the tricyclic
antidepressants, specifically chlomipramine. SSRIs prevent the serotonin from being pumped right back into its
original neuron that usually triggers the panic button to the brain. In that way, the person is eased off his
obsessive-compulsive thoughts and excessive anxiety.
OCD may also be treated with behavioral therapy or cognitive therapy. In some cases, that these
therapies are combined with medications. Psychotherapy helps in treating the disorder by exposing the person to
a specific technique known as the Exposure and Ritual Prevention or ERP. The person is gradually taught
how to tolerate his anxiety that is connected to his inability to perform a constant ritual.
NEXT: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
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