obsessive compulsive disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder

 

1 Quite commonly present but it is a crippling disorder often taking away years of productivity of an individual

2. Consists of repetitive thoughts and actions which may look silly to an observer but the person experiencing them is quite stuck in the ritual

3. Often a thought strikes the mind,gets magnified,seems to possess a serious outcome and floods the person with anxiety.

4 .To ward off the anxiety the person does a symbolic act of removing the anxiety but the anxiety reduces very briefly till another thought repeats.

5. For example a person leaving the house may suddenly get a thought that he left the lights on. despite having switched it off ,he is flooded with anxiety about the worst consequences he can imagine. In order to control the anxiety he may be compelled to open the door and check and this may be followed by several repetitions and valuable time is lost,opportunities lost.

Treatments are often a combination of medicines to reduce thoughts ,lower anxiety and behaviour therapy . Patients motivation is crucial as anxiety about a lot of things can flood him. However once baby steps are taken and the patient can regulate his anxiety he is more in control of his actions in the face of any repetitive disturbing thoughts

Sometimes OCD may present in people but they are not able to see the consequences of the illness and may deny it altogether. Here it becomes difficult to help as the person cannot see the problem.Some related disorders are body dysmorphic disorder and hoarding disorder. 

These are difficult to treat with regular treatments and counselling and need a specialized intervention