Understanding Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Comprehensive Analysis

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Introduction
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is classified as an anxiety disorder that’s marked by the recurrence of disturbing thoughts, images, impulses, or obsessions followed by repeated attempts to conceal these thoughts (Fitzgerald, 2015). The illness affects as many as 12 in every 1000 people (1.2% of the population) from young children to adults, regardless of gender or social or cultural background (Cloke, 2011). Obsessions are impulses or images that keep occurring in your head. The key function of compulsions is to alleviate anxiety caused by the obsessions (Starcevic, 2011). These compulsions can sometimes cause anxiety once the obsession gets stronger. OCD usually causes discomfort for the person because of the repeating thoughts. …show more content…

Treatment centers have recently succeeded in enrolling a large number of patients in order for a more sophisticated analysis of the heterogeneity and comorbidity of OCD (Rasmussen, 2002). Epidemiologic studies constantly show that about 2%-3% of the population in the U.S. meet the criteria for OCD. Obsessive-Compulsive disorder has been found to be the eighth leading cause of disability for ages 15-44 (Rasmussen, 2002). Many studies have suggested that OCD is lifelong and chronic. It has been observed in children as young as the age of 2 and in the very elderly. Multiple evidences support that the hypothesis that obsessive compulsive disorder is a heterogeneous disorder with many causes. Neurobiological studies have indicated abnormalities in frontostriatal–basal ganglia circuitry (Rasmussen, 2002). Any patient diagnosed with OCD must have had at least an hour of symptoms daily for about 6 months. Those symptoms interfere with social or occupational functions. Like symptoms of anxiety, obsessive compulsive symptoms are present in many (Rasmussen, 2002). About 5.5% of the obsessive compulsive symptoms have occurred to patients at the age of 30. A study conducted has screened 958 students. The study identified 23 subjects with subclinical OCD. At a follow-up a year later, 87% of those students continued to have significant symptoms (Rasmussen, 2002). For many years, it has been recognized that many children face stages characterized by obsessive-compulsive behavior, but the clinical significance of these symptoms in childhood continues to be poorly understood and the risk carried by children of parents with OCD for subsequent development of the disorder is also poorly defined (Rasmussen,

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