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OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER Everybody in the world suffers from some sort of mental or physical problem. In some cases it is more obvious than others. For example, if you discover a lump on your body you may think its cancerous. That person may or may not be able to treat that illness depending on what stage he / she caught it in. For mental disorders this is not the case. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is not even close to as deadly as cancer, but it can ruin your life just the same.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a serious disease, and much more common than people think. More than four million people in the United States suffer from its disabling thoughts or rituals. Amazingly, most OCD-sufferers keep their troubles hidden. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can begin suddenly and is usually seen as a problem as soon as it starts. OCD is different from the superstitions of everyday life. Many people believe in lucky numbers, avoid walking under ladders, keep umbrellas closed in the house, or knock on wood.
People with OCD have rituals that go far beyond these common beliefs and habits. OCD patients have these rituals or thoughts where they know are senseless, and waste hours every day using up precious school, work, or personal time. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is characterized by the presence of either obsessions or compulsions. Out of the people diagnosed with OCD, 80 % of them report both types of symptoms. Obsessions are defined as recurrent, persistent ideas, thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as annoying and senseless. Compulsions are repetitive, intentional behaviors performed according to rules in a ritualistic manner.
People with OCD typically try to make their obsessions go away by performing compulsions. Compulsions are acts the person performs over and over again, often according to certain "rules. " People with an obsession about contamination may wash constantly to the point that their hands become raw and inflamed. A person may repeatedly check that she has turned off the stove or iron because of an obsessive fear of burning the house down. She may have to count certain objects over and over because of an obsession about losing them. Unlike compulsive drinking or gambling, OCD compulsions do not give the person pleasure.
Rather, the rituals are performed to obtain relief from the discomfort caused by the obsessions. Common forms of compulsions are washers, checkers, counters, and arrangers. The "washer" is a person who feels he / she must wash over and over again. A "checker" is somebody that will check locks, doors, lights, etc.
up to ten, twenty, or even one hundred times. The "counter is somebody that has to count over and over to a certain number. An "ordering / arranger " is somebody that will pack and unpack his / her suitcase, or rearranging drawers. The most common forms of obsessions include doubting, thinking, impulses, fears, and images. Although it is common to see a variety of these symptoms in any individual with OCD, patients are often categorized according to the primary obsession or compulsion. If obsessions or compulsions are present in a person, that doesnt mean that they are automatically diagnosed with OCD.
The persons behaviors must be time consuming and interfere significantly with his / her occupational or social functioning. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder affects 2 %- 3 % of the general population. The gender and race of the person makes no difference. The onset of OCD is usually in the late teens or early twenties. It usually doesnt affect people older than 35.
Some children also suffer from OCD with exactly the same symptoms as adults. One third to one half of adults with OCD report that it started during childhood. Unfortunately, OCD often goes unrecognized. On average, people with OCD see three to four doctors and spend over 9 years seeking treatment before they receive a correct diagnosis. Studies have also found that it takes an average of 17 years from the time OCD begins for people to obtain appropriate treatment.
In spite of the interest in individual cases of OCD in the past 100 years, there was not much work on treatment. There is little incentive to evaluate or develop new treatment for rare diseases. So, up until the 1970 s, the recommended treatment was psychotherapy or psychoanalysis. Many of the therapists found that psychotherapy was not helpful for severe cases and follow-up studies of adults could not show any advantage for this treatment. In the most severe cases of OCD, psychosurgery was used regularly until the 1950 s.
With availability of other treatments, psychosurgery is now a last resort. The two newer treatments, behavior therapy and drug treatment with Anafranil, both seem to have long-term benefits. Behavior therapists have followed up their patients for a year or two and the effect seems to last. Anafranil has not been as well studied in follow-up, but what studies have been done show that it too is helpful over at least two years.
People with OCD are not always aware that they are suffering from a disease. This ruins a lot of peoples family lives because the person suffering from OCD will change completely. They might become violent if somebody in the house starts to clean or arrange things differently then how they would do it. Things that might seem bizarre to one, but is actually taken very seriously. People with OCD are also suicidal because the disease will take over their lives entirely. OCD is very dangerous and people need to be made aware of what it is, because they might be suffering from it and not even knowing.
Bibliography: BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. The Neuropsychiatric Guide To Modern Everyday Psychiatry Michael Alan Taylor, M. D. A Division Of Macmillan, Inc. 866 Third Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10022 2. Psychopathology In Adulthood Alan S.
Black, Michael Here A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 160 Gould Street Needham Heights, Massachusetts 02194
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Research essay sample on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder People With Ocd
