Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of several anxiety disorders. Obsessive-compulsive disorders Symptoms (OCD) are having behaviors or thoughts that are over and over again and if these behavior or thoughts are not done then there is an anxious feeling of incompleteness. Some of the behaviors are normal everyday things, for example washing ones hands, checking doors or stoves, and some of the things can be unusual, counting to ten, counting while waiting for someone, hoarding money, or other things. These symptoms can range from mild to severe. Treatments for OCD consist of antidepressants (Prozac or Zoloft for instance) and certain kinds of behavior therapy that are intended to help stop the behavior.

What is OCD?
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder that causes obsessions which are irrational thoughts that the patient is unable to get rid of. Compulsions are usually the actions that relate to the obsessive thoughts. One example might be thinking "My hands are full of germs" and therefore washing them over and over because one is not able to get the thought out of the mind. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms cause a lot of stress and sometimes even so much embarrassment that treatment is sometimes difficult to ask for even professional counseling. The patient often tries to hide these obsessions and compulsions so their friends won’t think they are weird.

Causes of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
While medical researchers haven’t been able to learn exactly what causes OCD, they are beginning to have an understanding of OCD and what the causes might be. Often OCD is found in more than one family member, signifying that it might be genetic. Other research has found that there is a chemical imbalance in several different areas of the brain. Sometimes patients do better when being given Serotonin, so that makes them believe that low Serotonin levels might somehow be involved with OCD. Medical researchers are looking forward to Better understanding OCD in the future.

Signs and Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Obsessions are involuntary, recurring, undesirable thoughts that haunt the patient with such alarm that some action, such as washing their hands, must be taken to eliminate or reduce the distressing thought. These patients’ obsessions are mostly concerning: the need to be cleaner, repeated doubts, sexual thoughts, aggressive feelings and thoughts, the need to be extremely orderly and neat. Compulsions are actions that a patient feels the need to do because they are unable to let the doubts go even after all the evidence is there that the doubt is not needed. Often these compulsions concern cleanliness, the constant need to be reassured, a constant need to do actions over and over. Some of the results of these compulsions may be seen, such as sore, irritated hands from washing repeatedly, extreme reactions to otherwise normal situations such as slight messiness in a room.

Medical treatment in both children and adults should be sought if there comes a time when either the obsessions or the compulsions or both have too much affect upon the patients’ lives or those around them. Embarrassment is common with this problem, however, there is treatment and counselors will not judge. Children may not always know when they are obsessing more than they should, so of course it’s up to relatives or parents to determine whether treatment is necessary for them.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment and Medications
A counselor will do all that is necessary to diagnose this sometimes complicated emotional state. He might check for red, irritated hands that are caused by constant washing. In addition, he will ask certain questions of both the patient and relatives and other acquaintances that may have seen some of the obsessions or compulsions.

The diagnostic criteria are these obsessions are not just extreme worries concerning regular life, these are unnatural and excessive. These worries cause a lot of anxiety and interfere with the patient’s daily life. The patient at some point realizes that these obsessions and compulsions are a result of their own minds malfunction, and not reality. The patient tries to deny or ignore the obsessions. When diagnosing Compulsions they must be recurring actions that the patient feels the need to do. These physical or mental compulsions are done in order to somehow deal with stresses that are not real.

Should these be present then counseling, consisting of changing beliefs about the stressful situations and exposing the patient to what would normally cause a compulsion (a dirty room, dirty hands etc) and having the patient resist acting on the compulsion. The patient would work on different compulsions until he feels comfortable resisting the compulsive thought or action. Anti-anxiety medication is also given, however this medication generally takes nearly three months to take effect.

Obsessive compulsive disorder is a difficult disorder to live with and can be very embarrassing for the patient. However, there is treatment and hope for these patients.