Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder One of the most interesting mental illnesses to talk about today is obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is mostly referred to as OCD. Although OCD is an attention-grabbing subject, it can occupy a lot of time and energy from a person’s life. There are many who suffer from OCD including men, women, boys and girls. This mental illness causes one to have thoughts that are uncontrollable as well as behaviors that are repeated over and over again. For example, Sue just turned off the stove five minutes ago, however as she was going to bed thoughts began to take over telling her to recheck it to make sure it is not on. Sue obeys her thoughts and returns to the kitchen and checks the knobs to insure that the stove was turned off. Sue now knows that the stove is turned off and then walks away, however as the individual turns to go back to bed another thought comes to mind saying recheck it again to a point were it becomes excessive and the behavior is done repeatedly. Sue’s behavior is a symptom of obsession and compulsion. In addition to this example, one can picture an individual walking to class and every little piece of paper on the floor no matter how small it is, the person picks it up and throws it in the trashcan because they have an obsession about cleanliness. Other examples may include talking out loud but to one’s self, or washing one’s hands over and over again, and being afraid that something he or she touched had germs on it. Another example is Karen who lives in a body that has a mind constantly saying something bad is going to happen if she does not do what her thoughts tell her to do. For instance, Karen must rub a wall three times to avoid not passing an exam the next day. Karen believes that if she rubs the wall she will have a chance to pass the exam. These are all examples of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. For so many people this is the kind of life they live while suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive

References: Abramowitz, J. S., Taylor, S., & McKay, D. (2009). Obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Lancet, 374(9688), 491-9 Bram, A., & Björgvinsson, T. (2004). A psychodynamic clinician 's foray into cognitive- behavioral therapy utilizing exposure-response prevention for obsessive- Pittenger, Christopher. (2013). Depression and Anxiety, Vol 30(8), Aug 2013, 716-722 TR 10-4676). Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-