Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Symptoms, Treatment

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a chronic condition that manifests itself through uncontrollable and repetitive thoughts and behavior.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a chronic condition that manifests itself through uncontrollable, recurrent thoughts (obsessions) and behavior (compulsion). The person who has these thoughts and behaviors feels the need to repeat them constantly.

This type of disorder is so intense that it can still interfere with a person’s daily activities and cause significant stress and suffering.

People trying to ignore or stop their obsessions do nothing but increase the level of stress and anxiety. Finally, they feel compelled to practice those compulsive activities to alleviate their stress.

The obsessive-compulsive disorder tends to have a certain theme, for example, the fear of microbes. To reduce the fear of contamination, the person can wash their hands compulsively, so they can often cause injuries.

People who suffer from the obsessive-compulsive disorder may feel ashamed because of their condition; however, there is an effective treatment for this disorder. Along with the medical treatment for this disorder, one should join any mental health facility recovery groups.

Signs and symptoms

Obsessive-compulsive illness typically involves obsessive and compulsive disorders. However, only obsessive symptoms or compulsive symptoms are probable for a human.

In some cases, people with these symptoms do not realize their presence but consume them from the time allocated to daily activities, social activities, or work.

Obsessive symptoms

The obsessions present in obsessive-compulsive disorder are unwanted, repeated, persistent. These are manifested by desires, impulses, or images that are intrusive and produce anxiety and stress. These obsessions usually occur when you want to perform a different activity.

Often obsessions have certain themes, such as:

Fear of contamination or fear of dirt.
The need to have things arranged in a certain way and to be symmetrical.
Aggressive thoughts about harming other people or yourself.
Unwanted thoughts that may include religious, sexual, aggressive topics.

Some examples of signs and symptoms could be:

Due to the fear of being contaminated, the person does not touch the objects already touched by other people.
Doubts about closing the door or stove.
High level of stress when objects are not arranged in a certain way or are not positioned facing a certain direction.
Thoughts about shouting obscenities or acting inappropriately.
Avoid certain situations that can trigger obsessions, such as shaking hands.
Stress is caused by the appearance in the mind of unwanted sexual images or thoughts of hurting someone or oneself.

Symptoms compulsive

Compulsions from obsessive-compulsive disorder are repeated actions that the person feels the need to practice. These repetitive actions are meant to reduce anxiety due to obsessions. However, performing these actions does not bring pleasure, and the relief is only temporary.

As with obsessions, compulsions usually have a specific theme, such as:

Hand washing.
Repeated verification.
Numbering.
Everything should be in order.
Creating a strict routine.

Examples of signs and symptoms of compulsions include:

Washing hands until skin damage.
Check the doors repeatedly to make sure they are locked.
Check the stove repeatedly to make sure it is closed.
Counting in certain patterns.
Repeating a certain phrase, prayer, or a certain word.
Arranging objects (e.g. cans) so that they are all facing each other in a certain direction.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder usually occurs in adolescence. Symptoms usually appear gradually and tend to vary in severity throughout life. In general, the symptoms worsen when a person suffers from a high level of stress. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is considered a disorder that persists throughout life.

CAUSE

The causes of this disorder are not fully known. The main theories include:

Biological cause. Obsessive-compulsive disorder can be the result of changes in the chemical nature of the body or brain function.
Genetics. This disorder may also have a genetic component, but specific genes have not yet been discovered.

Risk factors

Factors that may increase the risk of developing or triggering obsessive-compulsive disorder include:

Family history. People who have parents or other family members diagnosed with this disorder are at increased risk of developing this condition.
Stressful events. If a person has suffered a stressful or traumatic event, then the risk of developing this type of disorder increases. Reactions to that event can trigger intrusive thoughts or emotional distress characteristic of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Other mental disorders. Obsessive-compulsive disorder can be linked to other mental health problems such as anxiety disorder, depression, substance abuse, motor tics.

Complications

Some of the problems resulting from this type of disorder include:

Health problems such as contact dermatitis, obtained after frequent hand washing.
Impossibility to attend work, school, or social activities.
Relationship problems.
Poor quality of life.
Thoughts about suicide.

There is no safe way to prevent obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, starting treatment as early as possible can prevent the condition from getting worse.

Diagnostics

To help diagnose obsessive-compulsive disorder, the following steps can be performed:

Physical examination. This check is performed to rule out other problems that could be causing the symptoms and to check for possible complications.
Clinical experiments. – laboratory tests. These could require a full blood count to verify thyroid activity and alcohol or other medications screening.
Psychological evaluation. This includes discussions of thoughts, feelings, emotions, symptoms, and behavioral patterns. With the permission of the affected person, the specialist doctor can also talk to family members or friends.

In some cases, obsessive-compulsive disorder can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms may be similar to those of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, anxiety disorder, depression, schizophrenia, or other mental disorders.

It is possible that there is an obsessive-compulsive disorder at the same time as another mental disorder. For this reason it is important to work with a specialist to receive a correct diagnosis and the necessary treatment.

Treatment and therapies

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is generally treated with psychotherapy, drug treatment, or a combination of the two. Although the treatment is not curative, it can help control symptoms. Some people need lifelong treatment.

Although most people with this disorder respond well to treatment, some people continue to have symptoms. For this reason, more effective methods of treatment are constantly being researched.

A possible form of treatment would be deep brain stimulation, but this has not been thoroughly tested in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder and may present certain risks.

It is advised that patients involved in this method of therapy meet for the first time with a consultant.