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¶ … psychological disorders have been identified by specialists in the field. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an example that not only intrigues mental health professionals but also the general public. Psychology Today, with its article 'Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder', and its intention of educating the public, defines this phenomenon shedding light on its symptoms, causes, and treatment.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a neurobiological anxiety condition characterized by repetitive thoughts and actions. The former are obsessions while the latter are compulsions. As with most conditions, the severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder can range from mild to debilitating. Of the two symptoms, obsessions are less externally visible. An obsession is a recurrent thought or feeling that creates anxiety. For example, an individual may repeatedly think that his hands are not clean. As anxiety increases, one attempts to reduce it by performing a repetitive action, called a compulsion or ritual. Using the above example, the recurrent...
Causes of OCD stem from biological, environmental, and cognitive factors. Oftentimes this condition concurrently exists with others, like attention deficit disorder or Tourette's syndrome. Treatment consists of medication and/or cognitive behavioral therapy. The use of one or both approaches can greatly reduce OCD symptoms. Naturally, support from family and friends provide greater chances of successful treatment.
This article, being an overview, satisfactorily addresses obsessive-compulsive disorder. In considering its audience, it does not burden the reader with heavy jargon. Additionally, there are concrete examples that illustrate the symptoms and treatment. For example, the author details a therapeutic exercise for those afflicted with obsessions and compulsions of cleanliness. "Exposure and response prevention" requires a patient to confront the fearful thoughts and then refrain from acting on them (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, 1991). In other…
References
Gard, Carolyn. (2004). Life with OCD: When Ordinary Anxieties Turn into Extreme Behavior.
Current Health 2, 30 (6), 181-185.
Psychology Today Magazine. (1991). Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. New York: Sussex
Publishers.
OCD in Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common psychological, anxiety disorder that is characterized by repetitive and intrusive thoughts and stereotypic behaviors frequently associated with dread and compulsion (Walitza). These intrusive thoughts can be scary and the behaviors are often disruptive to the development of social relationships and therefore debilitating especially to children and adolescents. OCD affects approximately 3% of the population and an early age of symptoms onset during
These studies show the importance of confronting feared stimuli for extinguishing anxiety. However, at the same time, other research has found that the cognitive methodology has had equal results to the ERP in OCD treatment. Hackman and McLean report that they have as positive results with thought-stopping as those found with ERP. Once again, however, the number of studies has been very small (Abromowitz). It has only been in the
Here is what is known for now: Patients who are found to have OCD generally display symptoms along the lines of having compulsions, obsessions, doubting, hyper-vigilance and the need to control their environment. No one is completely certain what it is that causes OCD, although there are two trains of thought on the matter. Some people believe that OCD is a psychological disorder and others believe that it is
OCD is in many ways a homogeneous disorder. The disorder has a prevalence of around 2% to 3% of the population, and this prevalence is likely underestimated in many different countries / and descriptions of obsessions and compulsions have been remarkably consistent over time and place. Neurobiological studies have consistently found evidence that cortical-striatal-thalamic-cortical (CTSC) circuits play a crucial role in mediating the disorder and treatment research has invariably demonstrated
Diagnosis in children is sometimes difficult since they often try to mask symptoms. The following questions are a good indicator that the child needs to be evaluated by a professional: Do you have worries, thoughts, images, feelings, or ideas that bother you? Do you have to check things over and over again? Do you have to wash your hands a lot, more than most kids? Do you count to a certain number or
The resulting anxiety then is managed by training children to use strategies that help them work with their anxiety in a more effective and less disruptive way. Anxiety management techniques may include relaxation training, distraction, or imagery. Often, OCD is personified as something that makes the child perform an action. Thus, children learn to assess situations and ask themselves if they really want to do something, as opposed to the