Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a mental illness that traps people in endless cycles of repetitive thoughts and behaviors and must repeat certain actions over and over to relieve that stress or to obtain from danger. 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)

Obsessions are unwanted ideas, images, and impulses that run through a person's mind over and over again. They are intrusive, unpleasant and produce high anxiety. (www.lycos.com: April 2000) Sometimes the obsessions come once and a while and other times the thoughts are constant and cause tremendous distress. (American Family Physician: 2000) The most common obsessions are the fear of getting dirty or infected, fear of getting AIDS, disgust of being infected with bodily wastes or discretions, concern of doing something poorly or incorrectly, the fear of thinking evil or having sinful thoughts, extreme concern with certain sounds, images words or numbers, thoughts of killing or harming someone, or fear of disaster. (USA Today: 1995) The person feels the need to do things correctly and perfectly. Compulsions restore the comfort destroyed by obsessions. Compulsions are done purposefully to satisfy those obsessions. They are overt actions such as checking, cleaning, putting things in order, or repetitive words and actions such as mental rehearsal, silent prayer or counting, repeated demands, or repetition of phrases or sounds. Yielding the compulsions relieves growing tension and anxiety, but usually the relief is temporary. Twenty percent of those with OCD have only obsessions or only compulsions, but eighty percent have both. (USA Today: 1995)

In the early years it was very rare to have obsessive-compulsive disorder. People who had symptoms were embarrassed and ashamed, so they never wanted to receive help. In the 1980's the National Institute of Mental Health did a survey and it showed that 2-3 percent or about 5 million people have OCD or had it sometime throughout their life. OCD is more common than such mental illnesses as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or panic disorder. OCD usually affects those in teenage years or early adulthood. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is the same among all ethnic races and is equally affecting males and females. (www.lycos.com: 2000) OCD tends to last for years or even decades.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder affects many people and many lives. There have been tons of researches and experiments associated with OCD. By observing several journal articles, books, and Internet, the question that arises is what causes OCD and what is the best approach for treatment?

The cause of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is still being researched but there are two main theories. Like any other disease the controversy of the cause is between the biological theory and environmental theory. Symptoms usually begin in the teenage or early adulthood years. Although, some children develop the illness at earlier ages, even during preschool years. At least one-third of cases of OCD in adults began in childhood. The search for causes now focuses on the interaction of neurobiological factors and environmental influences as well as cognitive processes. Other theories focus on the interaction between behavior and environment and beliefs and attitudes as well as how information is processed. The belief that OCD resulted from life experiences has been weakened. The growing evidence shows that biological factors are the primary contributor to the disorder. It is no longer only attributed to attitudes learned during childhood. (www.lycos.com: 2000)

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is connected with an imbalance in a brain chemical called serotonin, which is a bridge between the basal ganglia and frontal cortex, which sends nerve impulses from one nerve cell to the next and it regulates repetitive behaviors (American Family Physician: 2000). OCD is seen to be genetic and often occurs with depression. Little is known about what parts of the brain help to produce the disorder's bizarre thoughts and actions. Scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine suggest that an imbalance in the energy-conversion of two structures of the frontal lobes work together to help channel incoming sensations and perceptions. Lewis Baxter, who is the director of the project, says that the mismatch accompanies OCD, but it doesn't necessarily cause it. The report is based on Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Several groups of investigators report their findings from the PET scans, which suggest that the brain activity in OCD patients is different from the people without a mental illness or a different mental illness. There is evidence that there is brain abnormality in those diagnosed with OCD. The PET scanning devices transform measures of