Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Essay Example

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Number Obsessive Compulsive Disorder The National Institute of Mental Health(NIMH) defined Obsessive Compulsive Disorder as “an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions)”. Individuals afflicted with this disorder resort to “rituals” such as repetitive cleaning, hand-washing, or checking to relieve the anxiety being felt. Individuals with OCD repeatedly wash their hands expecting that such practice would prevent them from getting contaminated with germs.

Ironically, when the aforementioned behavior is not performed, anxiety increases instead of being relieved. For clarification purposes, OCD is a mental disorder that is not similar with having Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. OCD is characterized by intrusive thoughts such as believing that a devil or another being could possibly harm them or their loved ones. Such thoughts result in behavior that seems paranoid such as being overly protective of people close to them. On the other hand, OCD personality disorder is more concerned with rules, standards, and guidelines which makes a person a “perfectionist”.

OCD is a mental disorder with two different but related components. These are intrusive thoughts, the “obsessive” part of the disorder, and repetitive behaviors, the “compulsive” part of the disorder (Rachman,2003, p.21). Aardema ( 2007) characterized OCD as ego-dystonic which meant that the individual’s self-concept is not compatible with the disorder ( p.187). On the contrary, OCD personality disorder is ego-syntonic which is defined by Dorland’s Medical Dictionary as “ aspects of a person's thoughts, impulses, attitudes, and behavior that are felt to be acceptable and consistent with the self-conception.

”All mental disorders can lead to serious consequences for the individuals who are affected by them. Perhaps among the mental illness known to man, OCD subjects patients to casual and daily ridicule. There are countless jokes – on everything from sit-coms to sportscasts – about people washing their hands a la Lady Macbeth in an obsessive way. People make continual references to being obsessive or compulsive about one thing or another all the time in a way that someone who actually struggles with OCD can feel slightly and incredibly dismissive.

Those who have this condition, far from finding it a joke, can in fact find it crippling and are often deeply ashamed of their thoughts and behaviors As aforementioned, the disorders have both compulsive and obsessive symptoms. Both of these symptoms cause anxiety, and the anxiety increases dramatically if the individual tries to resist either compulsions or obsessions (Rachman, 2003, p. 21). Generally, obsessions and compulsions are related to each other. For example, if a person has obsessions about cleanliness (a common obsession), then that person is likely to have compulsions around the issue of cleanliness as well – for example he or she might continually clean the kitchen, bleaching the cabinets over and over and scrubbing the floor with a toothbrush.

If this individual tries to stop cleaning all the time (or even to stop thinking about cleaning all the time), the person's anxiety level is likely to rise. This results in most cases wherein when individuals have not received treatment, they are very anxious and allow the obsessions and compulsions unfettered access. While cleanliness is certainly a common obsession for people with OCD, there are other common obsessions and associated compulsions, including hoarding and focus on religious and sexual issues.

Most people with OCD feel ashamed of their feelings and recognize that their actions are irrational. Most people with OCD would like to stop their behaviors and their thoughts. They simply do not know how to do so, and this fact can lead to secondary mental disorders such as depression (Wilson & Veale, 2005, p. 61). Treatment for OCD has a two-pronged approach: psychotherapy and medications. According to Mayoclinic, psychotherapy or “cognitive behavioral therapy involves retraining your thought patterns and routines so that compulsive behaviors are no longer necessary” and shows more promising results in treating OCD for adults or children ( OCD, Mayoclinic, com), Medications are also prescribed for the patient to supplement the cognitive behavioral therapy.

Some of these medications prescribed are “Clomipramine (Anafranil), Fluvoxamine, Fluoxetine (Prozac), Paroxetine (Paxil), Sertraline (Zoloft) “plus other antidepressants ( OCD treatments and drugs,Mayoclinic.com).