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People with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have persistent,
upsetting thoughts (obsessions) and use rituals (compulsions)
to control the anxiety these thoughts produce. Most of the
time, the rituals end up controlling them.
For example, if people are obsessed with germs or dirt,
they may develop a compulsion to wash their hands over and
over again. If they develop an obsession with intruders,
they may lock and relock their doors many times before going
to bed. Being afraid of social embarrassment may prompt people
with OCD to comb their hair compulsively in front of a mirror-sometimes
they get "caught" in the mirror and can't move away from
it. Performing such rituals is not pleasurable. At best,
it produces temporary relief from the anxiety created by
obsessive thoughts.
Other common rituals are a need to repeatedly check things,
touch things (especially in a particular sequence), or count
things. Some common obsessions include having frequent thoughts
of violence and harming loved ones, persistently thinking
about performing sexual acts the person dislikes, or having
thoughts that are prohibited by religious beliefs. People
with OCD may also be preoccupied with order and symmetry,
have difficulty throwing things out (so they accumulate),
or hoard unneeded items.
Healthy people also have rituals, such as checking to see
if the stove is off several times before leaving the house.
The difference is that people with OCD perform their rituals
even though doing so interferes with daily life and they
find the repetition distressing. Although most adults with
OCD recognize that what they are doing is senseless, some
adults and most children may not realize that their behavior
is out of the ordinary.
OCD affects about 2.2 million American adults, and
the problem can be accompanied by eating disorders, other
anxiety disorders, or depression.It
strikes men and women in roughly equal numbers and usually
appears in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood. One-third
of adults with OCD develop symptoms as children, and research
indicates that OCD might run in families.
The course of the disease is quite varied. Symptoms may
come and go, ease over time, or get worse. If OCD becomes
severe, it can keep a person from working or carrying out
normal responsibilities at home. People with OCD may try
to help themselves by avoiding situations that trigger their
obsessions, or they may use alcohol or drugs to calm themselves.
OCD usually responds well to treatment with certain medications
and/or exposure-based psychotherapy, in which people face
situations that cause fear or anxiety and become less sensitive
(desensitized) to them. NIMH is supporting research into
new treatment approaches for people whose OCD does not respond
well to the usual therapies. These approaches include combination
and augmentation (add-on) treatments, as well as modern techniques
such as deep brain stimulation.
To read the rest of this article from the National
Institute for Mental Health, please click here: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/anxiety.cfm#anx3
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