Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

There are a lot of people today who don't know what Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is. It's a type of mental illness that causes stress in everyday life. It's been discovered in children and has many symptoms. OCD can be treated in many different ways, some less complicated than others. OCD is a very difficult disease to overcome and takes a lot of time to recover from.

A lot of people ask, "What is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?" OCD is a potentially disabling anxiety disorder. Anyone who has OCD disturbing and unwanted thoughts and repeatedly performs tasks to get rid of the thoughts. The effects of OCD range from mild to severe. It can disrupt your social life and relationships as well as your ability to work and go to school (Rodgers 1 ).

In OCD it is as though the brain gets stuck on a particular thought or urge and just can't let go. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a mental brain disorder that causes problems in information processing. It is not the person's fault or the result of a "weak" or unstable personality ( What 1 ).

Sometimes, neurotics protect themselves against unconscious feelings of threat. They perform a particular act or concentrate on certain thoughts. The anxiety is focused on behavior itself and thus becomes more manageable ( Ragland 320 ).

There are many symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Since OCD is a chronic or long-term illness, the symptoms typically increase and decrease over time. Treatment can reduce the severity, but some symptoms may remain after a person begins treatment. Anxiety is the most common symptom of OCD. Usually a person would perform a certain ritual to get rid of an unwanted feeling. If someone fails to perform the ritual, they may have immediate anxiety or a nagging sense of incompleteness ( Rodgers 2 ).

In OCD, an obsession, is a thought or mental image that won't go away. True neurotic obsessions are much more insistent. They are so upsetting that they interfere with all facets of the individual's life. Extreme obsessive reactions make it impossible for the individual to concentrate on any other thought ( Ragland 320 ).

Obsessions, which are recurring, unwanted thoughts, ideas, and impulses that interrupt normal thinking, and causes anxiety or fear. The thought a person has may be sexual or violent or create a concern of illness. Examples of obsessions include a persistent fear of harm to yourself or a loved one, an excessive need to do things perfectly , or a fear of contamination ( Rodgers 2 ).

Along with obsessions, comes compulsions. Compulsions are behaviors or rituals that are repeated intentionally to try and control their obsessions ( Rodgers 2 ). Compulsive behavior consists of repetitive, ritualistic actions that serve no rational purpose ( Ragland 320 ). Some people have rituals that are structured and rigid, while others have very complex rituals that change ( Rodgers 2 ). Truly compulsive people are driven far past the relief or nervous tension. These individuals usually realize that their behavior does not make sense, but they cannot seem to control it, Their daily routines hardly change. They may do things a fixed number of times or in a fixed series ( Ragland 320 ). Some examples of compulsions include washing or checking, counting, often while doing another compulsive action, repeating things, or endlessly rearranging items to keep them in perfect alignment, hoarding, and praying ( Rodgers 2 ).

As of today, researchers have yet to pinpoint the exact cause of OCD, but they are studying brain abnormalities, genetic influences, and environmental factors. The brain scans in people who have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder have shown that they have different patterns of brain activity than those without it. The unusual functioning of circuitry within a certain part of the brain, may be related to OCD ( Rodgers 2 ).

There is no single, proven cause of OCD. Research suggests that OCD involves problems in communication between the front part of the brain and deeper structures. It is believed that scarce levels of serotonin are highly involved in the disorder ( What 3 ).

A lot of people wonder if the disorder is inherited. No specific genes for OCD have been found, but research suggests that genes do play a role in the development of the disorder in the same cases. The childhood-onset of OCD tends to run in families. When a parent has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, there is a slightly increased chance that a child will develop OCD, even though the risk is still low ( What 5 ).

The disorder can start at any time in a person's life usually ranging from preschool age to adulthood (usually by age 40). One third to one half of adults with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder report that it started during their childhood years. Unfortunately OCD goes unrecognized ( What 3 ).

Children