The Negative Effects Of OCD

Obsessive-compulsive disorder also known as OCD is a brain disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. In the United States alone, one 1 in 40 adults and 1 in 100 children are faced with the negative effects of OCD. The average age of diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder is 19 years of age. As a mental disorder, OCD can cause people to contemplate suicide. Around 5 to 25 percent of people with OCD have had the thoughts of killing themselves because of how much it controls their life. Obsessive-compulsive disorder can be many things: being afraid of germs, turning on and off a light switch multiple times, washing your hands more than once, and avoiding certain situations or objects. The basis of OCD is that it consecutively replays
Often this tactic is only a temporary solution to their problems. Common compulsions in OCD can be: washing and cleaning, checking on your life, rearranging things, asking for reassurance, and repeating routine actives. OCD is emotionally, vocationally, and socially crippling. According to Jane E. Brody’s article, People with OCD “know that their thoughts and actions are not realistic, but they cannot stop themselves from behaving as if they were grounded in fact.” In this article Jane explains her own stress and problems that she has dealt with for her whole life. Jane explains a part of her life “I have a fair share of compulsive patterns: seasonings arranged in strict alphabetical order; kitchen equipment always put back the same way in the same place; two large freezers packed with foods just in case I need them.” As she goes on in her article, it goes on to say that the fears that come from OCD get worse & worse. Starting from an excessive fear of germs, which causes people to constantly wash their hands. The refusal to touch doorknobs or handle objects handled by others. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is often hereditary, and can be passed down as stated by