A Study On Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

London, a 10 year old student, displays an inability to complete work and tasks in a timely manner at home and school. Her obsessive thoughts and compulsions have led to her ostracization in the classroom and a strained relationship with her mother. Due to her compulsion to repeat activities ten times and inability to control her thoughts, a diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder was established.

Studies have found that drugs such as clomipramine, fluoxetine, and fluvoxamine help between 50 and 80% of patients. The downfall to this type of treatment is that once the patient comes off of the medication the obsessions and compulsions return. This treatment only covers the symptoms of this disorder. Since there are downfalls to each treatment, cognitive, behavioral, and biological therapies are often used in combination. Obsessive-compulsive disorder can last for years or even be life long depending on how successful the treatment is.

As time has progressed, light has been shed on the causes and symptoms of mental disorders. Like many mental disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder was once linked to dissociation with religious beliefs. In the seventeenth century OCD was seen as a symptom of being isolated from religion and religious practices. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that obsessive-compulsive disorder began to be recognized as a mental disorder unrelated to religion. The route to this recognition began as stated by Koran (2007) by distinguishing obsessions from delusions and compulsions from impulsions. The source of the disorder, however, was still a matter to be argued on. The idea that OCD was a result of any level of insanity was disregarded after the mid-eighteen hundreds. For the most part, French psychiatrists believed it was a result of an emotional distress and “volitional” defects but not before placing it in a very broad spectrum of many other phobias we see today. German Psychiatrists, on the other hand, associated OCD with an issue on the intellectual level and as Magnan (1835-1916) put it, OCD was the “psychosis of degeneration.”

The following is an overview about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), one of the most difficult psychiatric illness to be understood. The way of doing certain behaviors, thoughts or routines repeatedly is the essential condition of a person with OCD. In general, it is known and described by someone who is extremely perfectionist and meticulous. Unfortunately, they do realize those habits and be able to stop doing it. Common behaviors are such as checking locks, doors, stove bottoms, and lights, hand washing, counting things, or having recurrent intrusive thoughts of hurting oneself or somebody else.

In Tina behaviors, it indicated that she has anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). OCD has 2 parts, obsession and compulsions. Obsessions are thoughts, impulses, or images that persist and recur, so that they cannot be dismissed from the mind even though the individual attempts to do so (Halter & Vacarolis, 2014). With Tina, she has an obsession of negative and harmful thoughts would come to her daughter even thought she knows it is irrational but she cannot get those thoughts out of her head. Compulsions are ritualistic behaviors an individual feels driven to perform in an attempt to reduce anxiety or prevent an imagined calamity. Performing the compulsive can only reduce the anxiety only temporarlity, which makes patient with

OCD follows a pretty typical cycle, in which patients have obsessions that can become triggered, and when they become triggered, the patient feels anxiety. In order to combat that anxiety, they will try to relive it by creating behaviors, called compulsions. The compulsions temporarily provide relief until the obsessions are triggered again. There are a few common types of OCD:

This case conceptualization of Francis discusses the principles of the cognitive behavioral theory that are based on the belief that learning, cognitions, and perceptions play a significant role in the development and maintenance of emotional and behavioral problems. Various CBT models are applied to the diagnostic determinants of Francis’ dysfunctional behavior and the empirically supported methods of cognitive behavioral treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are used to build a treatment plan to aid in Francis’ recovery.

Considering the secrecy surrounding OCD symptoms, it is important for family members to pay attention to early signs of ritualistic behaviors becoming troublesome. When OCD is suspected, a comprehensive clinical evaluation – including detailed interviews with parents and, if possible teachers – is required in order to check the obsessions, sensory phenomenon and compulsions in the case. In younger children, OCD features might appear subtly during play activities or drawing. It is vital to differentiate between obsessive compulsive symptoms and normal childhood behavior, such as the normal practice or actions during playtime, food time or bedtime. In this context, the information about degree of distress, impairment and time consumed performing rituals should provide enough data to decide whether or not treatment is warranted. Moreover, it is also important to assess insight and the family’s perception of the symptoms, as well as how family members deal with the patient.

The assigned article of this week is about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder titled Two-Way Mirror: Facing a Daughter’s O.C.D by Beth Boyle Machlan. To clarify the definition of OCD, there are two main features of the disorder: one is obsessions meaning “persistent and intrusive thoughts, ideas, impulses, or images”, another is compulsions which include “repetitive, purposeful, and intentional behaviors or mental acts that are performed in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly” (lecture). In the article, there is a girl named Lucy who may have OCD, and the article seems wrote by her mother. Lucy’s mom has been suffer from depression and bipolar, and Lucy has a history of Tic disorder (article). The story basically depicted in detail about Lucy’s first session with the doctor, Clark, regarding her OCD.

Imagine feeling like a slave in your own body. Being forced to do ridiculous rituals and having constant compulsions to do things that you know don’t make sense. This is what it is like to live with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In the United States alone, over 2 million people suffer from OCD (Parks, 2011) but no one has found the cause of this disorder. It affects people of all races, genders and socioeconomic backgrounds (Parks, 2011). Since it’s discovery and modern conceptualization, there has been an ongoing debate whether OCD is caused by environmental factors or if it is inherited through genetics. However, since both sides of the debate raise a solid argument and there is not enough hard evidence, the source of the disorder

Obsessive compulsion disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder described by irrational thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive tasks (compulsions) (Obsessive Compulsion Disorder, 2013). When a person has obsessive-compulsive disorder, they may realize that their obsessions aren't accurate, and they may try to overlook them but that only increases their suffering and worry. Eventually, you feel driven to perform compulsive acts to ease your stressful feelings. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is often driven by a reason, cause, or fear for example, a fear of germs. To calm the feeling of this fear, a person may compulsively wash their hands until they're sore and chapped. Despite their efforts, thoughts of obsessive-compulsive behavior keep coming back. This leads to more ritualistic behavior and a brutal cycle of obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD is the fourth most common mental disorder, and is diagnosed nearly as often as asthma and diabetes (Who We Are, 2012). In the United States, one in 50 adults suffers from OCD. Obsessive compulsive disorder affects children, adolescents, and adults. About one third to one half of adults with OCD report a childhood onset of the disorder, they felt these anxieties but were not diagnosed or felt no need to be diagnosed until the compulsions over whelmed them (Who We Are, 2012). The phrase obsessive compulsive has been used to describe excessively meticulous, perfectionistic, absorbed, or otherwise fixated person. While

The obsessive–compulsive-related disorders may include pathological grooming disorders such as trichotillomania, whereas a parallel category under consideration contains behavioral and substance addictions, including the impulse-control disorders such as compulsive buying and internet addiction. In this article, we accept that, whatever its diagnostic classification, shopping addiction is a behavior that can bring an individual to a psychiatrist, and consider it from a clinical perspective. (Shopping addiction BJPhysic

It started with a chill, each vertebrae vibrating one by one up my spine. Then the heat, my face flush and palms clammy. I could never keep up with my breathing, for it seemed as though each time I breathed out, I needed more air almost immediately. Soon, my mind was flooded with unsettling images, a new one appearing nearly every second, each worse than the last. Everything that I found comfort in was now an enemy. When will this end? My body could not keep up with the trembles and I could not resist the urge to scream. Was this room always so small? My eyes grew indecisive, darting across the room, until the capillaries within them bulged so greatly that I clenched my eyelids shut. Then, a long, deep breath.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, also known as OCD, is a disorder that affects about two to three percent of the population (UOCD). Knowing what OCD is and who it affects is just step one in understanding the psychology of this disorder. The psychological symptoms of OCD can be quite varied which can make it difficult to diagnose. Understanding the therapy techniques and how people with OCD live their daily lives is one of the most vital part in the psychology of OCD. While the roots of the disorder may be complex, understanding the disorder in everyday life is quite simple.

This case study was particularly fascinating in following the life of Karen Rusa and her obsessive compulsion disorder. It is interesting to study her childhood, present life, on-set symptoms she was experiencing, and the treatment she underwent. Though Karen withstood various trials that her OCD and depression effected greatly, I believe she received the best treatment to help her recover.