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Dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder
Obsessive compulsive disorder and how behavioral theory explains it
Dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder
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Obsessive-compulsive disorder is the most common anxiety disorder plaguing two to three percent of people (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Living with obsessive-compulsive disorder can affect an individual in many ways emotionally and physically. In the movie Matchstick Men the main character depicts the hardships of obsessive-compulsive disorder and how they can affect an individual’s life. Roy, played by Nicolas Cage, is an average Caucasian, late middle-aged man, with the exception of one aspect of him, obsessive-compulsive disorder. He has few social connections and even fewer meaningful ones. He has not had a romantic relationship in almost 15 years. The only person he maintains contact with in the beginning of the film …show more content…
He then finds his long lost 14-year-old daughter, Angela, and challenges his disorder while developing a close relationship with her. According to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is defined as recurrent obsessions or compulsions that are severe enough to be time consuming or cause anxiety or impairment (APA, 2013). After watching Matchstick Men, it is clear that Roy has obsessive-compulsive disorder. He agrees with all the diagnostic criteria including the obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are continual thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive and inappropriate that produce anxiety. Compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that prevent or reduce the distress. If the individual attempts to resist a compulsion, they may have a sense of escalating anxiety or tension that is often …show more content…
Roy experiences mainly three of these: contamination, doubts, and ordering. He is constantly fighting his contamination obsession by washing and cleaning his house thoroughly while neglecting the rest of his life. He also uses a cloth to open doors in public and when he eats tuna (the only food he does eat), he washes out the can with gloves, puts it in a plastic bag, and then throws it away. He doesn’t let anybody wear shoes on the carpet because of the fear of it getting dirty. He orders everything in his house, from his underwear in his drawers to the cleaning supplies in the closet to the food in the refrigerator. A few points in the movie, Roy has aggressive impulses. When he ran out of his medication and his therapist was out of town he screamed at people in the pharmacy line. After he realized what he had done he apologized. One of his impulses that he admitted to his therapist was that he wanted to commit suicide but then obsessed about what a mess it would make on the carpet. In 2006, Torres, Prince, Bebbington, Bhugra, Brugha, Farell, Jenkins, Lewis, Meltzer & Singleton found that 26% of the obsessive-compulsive disorder participants reported at least one suicidal attempt in their lifetime, nearly double the proportion among those with other neuroses, and 10 times that of
Unger’s obsessive compulsive disorder which has led to depression and attempted suicide. People with obsessive compulsive disorder suffer from unwanted and often intrusive thoughts that they can’t get out of their heads. They are often compelled to repeatedly do tasks in a ritualistic way in an attempt to eliminate their anxiety. They are most often aware that their obsessions or compulsions are irrational; however, they are still powerless to stop them and may spend countless hours doing these tasks over and over. This can and often does interfere with a person’s normal live and may make them less productive and successful at work, school, socially and even with family. If left untreated OCD will eventually interfere with all aspects of a person’s life
Roy’s story starts when he gets kicked out of The society for having a different beliefs. Roy goes into great detail and explains his beliefs that there was no alien encounters at all and that there was a pattern that explained what all the people thoughts of encounters. Roy’s believed a mysterious set of monsters feed on fear. These monsters evoked fear with the beings of aliens, ghosts, the lochness monster and other creatures. And that these monsters must keep up with the times and society by continuing to reinvent and that is why the pattern keep changing and different abductions keep happening. Jack then realises that his brother was afraid to be alone because of the monster he thought was real. The story ends with Jack finding his way to get his brother out of his life once and for
The struggle to battle with the persistent grief of self-blame and lack of identity is a constant reminder to the barriers in relationships. Leroy grieves over the fact that he has lost his identity as a father and husband. Although he often thinks of Randy, the memories of him have faded. As a result, he latches on to Norma Jean but she doesn’t respond back. This causes him to feel like a failure of a husband. Norma Jean is grieving over the emptiness in her life. It was not the life she thought she would have. Her deceased son symbolizes her emptiness because of his death. She also feels emptiness towards her husband. For example, she feels very uncomfortable around him and always tries to find something for him to do. When Leroy arrives back home from his accident Mason implies, “he thinks she’s seems a little disappointed” (Mason 220), displaying Norma Jean frustrated with his lying around doing nothing but watching television and smoking pot. In addition, Norma Jean feels emptiness towards her mother, which is presented in the way her mother criticizes her. When tragedies occur in a family and self-confidence fades it can take over your life a...
...g detail of its execution." (pg 219). Roy expresses to Tyrell that he has done undesirable things during his life that were caused because of his desire to live longer than his allotted four years.
In psychology, there are various schools of thought when approaching a particular psychological problem. Each may view the scenario from a different avenue of approach, and their methods and techniques used to treat the problem may also vary. This paper will discuss case scenario three, involving a man named John who appears to be exhibiting obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). With this example, the paper will discuss the various schools of thought in psychological theory, their techniques, and recommendations for treatment; to include how this knowledge could be applied to my current professional work.
Throughout the movie, Roy and the other replicants try to find a way to avoid their terrible fate. As Roy and Deckard fight at the end of the movie, Roy he feels his body beginning to degrade. Roy also realizes that no matter what he does to Deckard, he will not be able to change the fact that he is going to die. As he decides to accept his fate it is clear that he doesn't want to be alone in his final moments. All he wants is someone to be there to remember him, so that his memory can live on even though his own memories "will be lost in time like tears in rain".
Obsessive-compulsive disorder has been classified as a type of anxiety disorder under DSM-5, in which there is a presence of obsessions, compulsions or both. Obsessions are defined as “intrusive and mostly nonsensical thoughts, images, or urges that the individual tries to resist or eliminate,” while compulsion are the thought or actions that accompany these obsessions to try to suppress and provide relief. (TEXTBOOK) The obsessions are categorized into four major types, and each is linked with a certain pattern of compulsive behaviors.
In the book "The boy who couldn't stop washing" by Judith L. Rapoport, M.D., the narrator, Rapoport, deals with hundreds of mentally disturbed children and adults who suffer of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Rapoport describes the intricacies of the disease and its treatments as well as the fact that the cause is unknown but there are many probable theories. Victims of this horrible disease are plagued with overwhelming thoughts of insecurity that tear apart their lives and haunt them, increasingly, over their lifetimes. Rapoport while learning about OCD, herself, learned how to treat each one with many different psychological perspectives including: biological, behavioral, and psychodynamic contributions. A story on ABC's 20/20 about OCD brought Rapoport's new study on the disease to the light, resulting in thousands of calls to her office daily from desperate OCD sufferers.
While Matchstick Men depicts Nicholas Cage’s character, Roy, as a person with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder really well; meaning his disorder falls under the four D categories of abnormal psychology, it can be argued that Roy actually does not have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. After Roy dropped his illegally obtained pink pills that resemble Paroxetine for treating OCD, his partner in crime, Frank, suggested he go see a shrink. Dr. Klein disagreed with Roy on him having this disorder, believing it may be something else. It can be argued that Roy had a substance dependency on these pills his previous doctor gave him and believed so deeply that he had a disorder that could only be treated with medicine. Dr. Klein gave Roy vitamins that Roy believed was medication, his symptoms declined while he believed to be taking this medication, exhibiting the placebo effect. Roy’s messy car and habit of smoking and spreading ashes in his car as well as in his home contradict his compulsions and obsessions of cleanliness, although when there is a mess he becomes dysfunctional and
Obsessive Compulsive disorder also known in simpler terms as OCD is a disorder that is classified under the anxiety disorders. OCD is the result of paranoia within ones brain. Although having the diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a start there are many sub groups and types of OCD that someone may possibly posses either one or a multitude of them. One of the highest diagnosed sub-types of OCD is Compulsive Checking. In this type of OCD the person diagnosed has a fear that they will be harmed or harm someone else by everyday tasks. Compulsive checking can wreak havoc on the inflicted person’s life typically in more ways than one. “Perceptions of danger and intolerance of uncertainty again emerged as cognitive variables that play important roles in mediating obsessive-compulsive checking behavior” (Overton & Menzies, 2005). OCD can be linked with an earlier life experience and can be helped by therapeutic means or medication.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder has many common symptoms and experiences that along with it, but it is not completely cut-and-dry for every individual. The authors of these essays have gone through many hard times and want others to be informed about their disorder. Through their personal stories, I hope we have all learned a little more about what life with OCD is all about.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a type of anxiety disorder that can be best characterized by the recurrent or disturbing thoughts that are labeled as obsessions. Sometime these obsessions can take on the form of intrusive images or the unwanted impulses. The compulsions can come from the repetitive or ritualized behaviors that a person feels driven to perform on a daily basis. The majority of people with the diagnosis of OCD can have both obsessions and compulsions, but most of the times about 20% have obsessions alone while 10% may have the compulsions alone (Goodman M.D., 2013) . Common types that have been illustrated in individual’s diagnoses with OCD can be characterized with concerns of contamination, safety or harm to themselves, unwanted acts of aggression, the unacceptable sexual or religious thoughts, and the need for symmetry or exactness. While some of the most common compulsion can be characterized as excessive cleaning, checking, ordering, and arranging rituals or the counting and repeating routines activities that are done sometimes on a daily basis multiple times in a day.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a disorder that causes extreme anxiety categorized by intrusive thoughts and strong impulses. The obsessions in OCD are the reoccurring, intrusive thoughts. These thoughts cause the individual with OCD to become incredibly anxious. The compulsiveness in OCD is an action one is driven to perform to reduce the anxiety associated with the obsessions. OCD has many different causes, types, and treatments. Studies suggest about one percent of the population suffers from OCD. OCD has different perspectives that attempt to explain the causes of the disorder and why they affect the afflicted individuals. The different perspectives are the biological, behavioral, cognitive, and infection perspectives, each with their own ideas on treatment.
Mayo Clinic defines Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder as an anxiety disordered characterized by unreasonable thoughts and fears (obsession) that lead to to do repetitive behaviors ( compulsions). A person with OCD has to perform their own rules and rituals in order to control their anxiety. OCD can cause a person to wash, count, repeat actions, and arrange things in order. All of these symptoms are portrayed by Howard Hughes.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental illness that traps people in endless cycles of repetitive thoughts and behaviors. Pierre Janet described obsessive-compulsive disorder by using the term psychasthenia. Sigmund Freud described obsessions and compulsions as psychological defenses used to deal with sexual and aggressive conflicts in the unconscious mind (Bruce Bower: 1987). OCD is also known as “The Doubting Disease,” because it’s as though the mind doesn’t register when the person does a certain action, which triggers the source of the obsession (USA Today:1995). Unlike most people with anxiety disorders, those diagnosed with OCD are more obsessed with what will happen to others instead of themselves (Edna Foa: 1995). Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder occurs in a spectrum from mild to severe. At some point the person will see the actions or thoughts as unreasonable and senseless. All people have habits and routines, but what makes obsessive-compulsive people different is the fact that their obsessions and compulsions interfere with their daily lives (American Family Physician: 2000). They spend large amounts of time doing odd rituals. The rituals can take hours a day and make the sufferers miserable and doesn’t allow them for much of a business or social life (Harvard Mental Health Letter). At one OCD clinic, many had lost years of work to their symptoms. Seventy-five percent said the disorder interfered with their family lives and thirteen percent had attempted suicide (Harvard Mental Health Letter: 1998). Phebe Tucker, a psychiatrist at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, explained, the most common obsession is washing hands for fear of contamination. Other acts are counting over and over, checking locks, hoarding items such as newspapers or cartons, repeatedly dressing and undressing, and walking in and out of doorways. The thought and behavior patterns are senseless and distressing. They can make it very difficult for a person to function properly at work, school, or even at home. Obsessions take the form of doubts, fears, images, or impulses. (Harvard Mental Health Center: 1998)