The Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? I’m sure that most everyone
has seen different news shows or talk shows where you see the person
washing their hands until they bleed, or go back and forth into the
house to double, triple, quadruple check something. A person may walk
around their house making sure everything is “in its place” and not
stop until a level of perfect is reached but often perfection in their
eyes is never achieved. Magazines and books need to be parallel to
the table they are on and of course the table must be parallel with
the rest of the furniture in the room. These are just a few examples
of behaviors that are demonstrated when a person has OCD. If you are
facing this illness, you may feel alone but in reality, nearly 1 in 50
adults in the United States currently has OCD and twice that number
have had it at some point in their lives (OC Foundation). The OC
Foundation also has listed many common obsessions and common
compulsions to give you an idea of what symptoms these individuals
have:
Common Obsessions Common Compulsions
1. Contamination fears of germs, dirt, ECT. Washing
2. Imagining having harmed self or others
Repeating
3. Imagining losing control of aggressive urges Checking
4. Intrusive sexual thoughts or urges
Touching
5. Excessive religious or moral doubt Counting
6. Forbidden thoughts ...
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...to
survive the day in class. Keeping the doors of communication open
with the student’s parents is also important. They can help you to
understand what areas the individual has more specific problems with
and informed of any dramatic change in the family or individual life.
The most important thing you can do as an educator for students with
OCD is the same as your other students, show them that you care.
WORKS CITED
Bickel, E. (1984) Living with Compulsive Behaviors, Zondervan
Publishing House
Sebastian, R. (1993) The Encyclopedia of Health: Compulsive Behavior,
Chelsea House Publishers
Tallis, F. (1995) Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Cognitive and
Neuropsychological Perspective, John Wiley and Sons Llt.
“Choices” November/December 2004, Scholastic publications
http://www.ocfoundation.org
...bsessive-compulsive disorder: An examination of outcome and mediators of change. Journal Of Consulting And Clinical Psychology, 81(3), 415-428. doi:10.1037/a0031865
Peele, S. (1985). The meaning of addiction: Compulsive experience and its interpretation. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books/Heath.
Obsessive-Compulsive disorder (OCD) - is characterized by persistent, uncontrollable and unwanted feelings or thoughts (obsessions) and routines or rituals (compulsions) in which individuals engage to try to prevent or rid themselves of these thoughts. In example of common compulsions include washing hands or cleaning repeatedly for fear of germs.
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.
OCD has symptoms such as compulsive hoarding, extreme anxiety, depression, and food aversions. It currently has no sure cause but it has said to be a product of genetics or abnormalities in the brain and serotonin levels as controlling serotonin tends to help in treatment of OCD. Obsessive Compulsive disorder is seen in 2.3% of Americans. It’s more prominent in adults than in children.
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 (OCD) is a disorder which causes people to develop an anxiety when certain obsessions or compulsions are not fulfilled. OCD can affect both children and adults with more than half of all adults with OCD stating that they experienced signs as a child. People living with OCD display many obvious signs such as opening and closing a door fifty times because they have to do it “just right”. Others exhibit extreme cleanliness and will wash their hands or take showers as often as they can because they constantly feel dirty. OCD devastates people’s social lives as they are fixated and obsessed with perfection that can take forever to achieve. However people living with OCD are often found to have an above average intelligence and typically excel at school due to their detail oriented mindset, cautious planning and patience. OCD can be caused by many different factors such as genetics or the ever changing world a...
Jakubovski, E., Diniz, J. B., Valerio, C., Fossaluza, V., Belotto-Silva, C., Gorenstein, C., …Shavitt, R. G. (2013). Clinical predictors of long-term outcome in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Depression and Anxiety, 30, 763-772. doi 10.1002/da.22013
Black, D. W. (2007) A Review of Compulsive Buying Disorder. World Psychiatry Journal. February 2007. 6(1): 14-18
Imagine how much trash and waste people discard in their lifetimes. Now imagine a person living in that waste they have accumulated in their lifetime stored in their own homes because of their inability to discard the useless items. This is what day-to-day life is like for a compulsive hoarder. Compulsive hoarding is a chronic behavioral syndrome that is defined by a person's extreme retention of useless items and crippling inability to discard such items. Compulsive hoarding has been traditionally recognized amongst psychiatrists and researchers in human behavior as a sub-type of obsessive-compulsive disorder due to similar symptoms hoarders have with those that suffer from OCD. However, there is substantial evidence that proves contrary. Hoarders often have several other behavioral or physical symptoms that are not typical of a person with OCD, hoarders also have genetic and physical anomalies different from OCD, and finally, most compulsive hoarders do not respond to treatments intended for OCD patients. Because of these differences, compulsive hoarding should be seen as a separate syndrome apart from OCD, so that the disorder may be categorized and studied accurately in order to pursue more effective treatments.
...serious life decisions that are very hard on them without OCD and those who have it becomes extremely more difficult. I believe more research should be done in trying to find a cause for OCD and research done to try and find a cure. If this can be done many young lives could benefit and be able to live the life they want and not the life forced upon them because of their disorder. Knowledge gaps that need to be filled are more recognition that OCD is a serious problem and can lead to many other things. As I stated earlier some people may not take it as serious that should and that just comes with education of the subject. In all I believe that OCD should get serious attention as not only a mental disorder but as a serious health problem. In the future I hope to see more effective prevention and intervention methods introduced to ease the pain of millions of patients.
The exact cause of OCD is not known, but there are certain factors that contribute to developing the symptoms of the disorder such as genetics, cognitive, biological, and environmental factors (Merril). There are two diagnostic symptoms of OCD: obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are images or ideas that uncontrollably run through a person’s head that a person may find annoying because it is difficult to shake off (nimh.org). Some examples of obsessions that a person may experience are excessive fear of germs or contamination, constant checking and rechecking, unwanted sexual thoughts or feelings, and concern about symmetry and order (nimh.gov). In order to get rid of the obsessive thoughts, sufferers perform certain behaviors repeatedly. These repetitive actions are called compulsions (familydoctor.org). Doing certain things temporarily gets rid of their distress about their obsessions. But, when the thoughts come back, they repeat their rituals all over again . People with OCD feel that they must perform these rituals
Some examples of common obsessions of OCD sufferers are fears of germ contamination, imagining having harmed self or others, imagining losing control of aggressive urges, sexual thoughts or urges, excessive religious or moral doubt, etc. As stated before, most cases of OCD have compulsions to satisfy their obsessions, or urges. Some of
First of all, medications are a good way to treat OCD. One medication that can be used to treat OCD is antidepressants. Works Cited Charles, Katie. "Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a leading cause of disability worldwide, with causes not yet fully understood. " New York Daily News [New York] 21 July 2013: 2.
There are many symptoms that lead to the conclusion that someone is suffering from OCD. A person may have a fear of germs, wanting things to be in perfect order constantly, and unwanted thoughts. The compulsions in OCD are the acts that a person feels obliged to do and this may include repeatedly washing hands, excessively cleaning and washing hands and counting regularly. Life with OCD is generally hard and the sufferer generally does not get any relief or satisfaction until they are able to perform their rituals (National Institute of Mental health,