Causes Of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

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Hannah Maloney
Mr. Miller
Physcology
17 May 2014
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
“The tyrant in your head will second-guess you no matter what you do. That voice of dread is terrified, terrifying, loud, and repetitively destructive. Demote it by making it your pesky backseat driver. You can steer without it.” ( "Personal Stories - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by unreasonable thoughts, fears, and obsessions that lead you to do repetitive behaviors or compulsions. Living with OCD is like remembering every little thing you need to do for that week, every second of the day, every hour of the day, every minute of the day and all at once. One to two percent of the population in The United States suffers from OCD which is roughly 1 to 2 million people. ("How Many People Have OCD?)
The most common symptoms of OCD include: fear of being contaminated by germs or dirt or contaminating others, fear of causing harm to yourself or others, intrusive sexually explicit or violent thoughts and images, excessive focus on religious or moral ideas, fear of losing or not having things you might need, order and symmetry: the idea that everything must line up “just right,” superstitions; excessive attention to something considered lucky or unlucky, excessive double-checking of things, such as locks, appliances, and switches, repeatedly checking in on loved ones to make sure they’re safe, counting, tapping, repeating certain words, spending a lot of time washing or cleaning, ordering or arranging things “just so,” praying excessively or engaging in rituals triggered by religious fear, accumulating “junk” such as old newspapers or empty food containers, and picking at skin. (Symptoms, Behavior, and Tre...

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...uren's case. “...The human mind is a complicated place...We hold on to things, images, words, ideas, histories that we don't even know we're holding on to.” (Corey Ann Haydu, OCD Love Story)

Work Cited:
"Personal Stories - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA." Personal Stories - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

"Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder." AnxietyBC™. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

"Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)." : Symptoms, Behavior, and Treatment. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014

"The Different Types of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder." OCD-UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014

"How Many People Have OCD?" International OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.

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