Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD is frequently misunderstood, and as a result, thought of as a joke. For those who suffer with OCD, it is a real, disabling anxiety disorder which frequently overtakes that person’s daily life. The good news is that it is treatable!

OCD is really made up of two parts: the obsessional thinking and the compulsive behaviors. Without the two, it is not OCD. A classic example is the person who obsesses about contamination from “germs”. Every thought revolves around interpersonal or environmental contaminants. So that person maybe washes his or her hands 80 or 90 times a day. Now I believe that washing hands is essential to good health, but 80 or 90 hand washing a day is going to lead to severely chapped and raw skin.

I once had a patient who was so obsessed with cleanliness that he compulsively scrubbed his entire body with Comet Cleanser three times a day. His entire body was full of sores which would not heal.  Another man I knew obsessed that when he would drive his car in city traffic, he would inadvertently run over a pedestrian and the pedestrian would be tangled up under the frame of his car. The compulsive behavior was to get out of his car, on a city street, with traffic all around him, bend over and look under his car, just to  “make sure” even though he logically knew he did not run anyone over.

OCD can also include compulsions like counting, checking, touching, ritualistic behaviors and repeating specific words or phrases. The thoughts usually have some threatening component to them. For instance, the thought might be that if the person doesn’t check the stove or say certain words, some unfortunate event would occur to the person or a loved one.

Basically, the obsessional thoughts create high levels of anxiety, leading to panic attacks. The “only way” the anxiety can be reduced is to engage in the repetitive or compulsive behaviors. After a while, the person’s emotions take over day to day activities of living, rather than the “thinking” part of the brain (Neocortex).

OCD is treatable. It tends to run in families and the sooner it is treated, the better the prognosis for long term functioning. OCD is frequently associated with depression.

1. 

   Cary Visker says:

   November 30, 2011 at 11:16 am

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