Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Research Paper

Always washing your hands? Or perhaps you are always counting things or checking things. Are these actions taking over your life or constantly occupying your mind? Perhaps you have obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). It was once thought that OCD was rare; however, recently it has been found that 2-3% (or 7 million Americans) of people have OCD. People with OCD are usually diagnosed by between the ages of 20 and 30, and about 75% of those who will develop OCD will show symptoms by age 30. (1) This leads to a couple questions that need to be answered: What is OCD? What causes it, and what is the most effective treatment? These questions will be answered throughout the paper.

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.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder that can affect children and adults. In order to fully understand OCD, many different areas of the disorder must be reviewed. First, OCD will be defined and the diagnosis criteria will be discussed. Secondly the prevalence of the disorder will be considered. The different symptoms, behaviors and means of treatment are also important aspects that will be discussed in order to develop a clearer understanding of the implications of obsessive compulsive disorder.

Anxiety is often the result of maladaptive thought processes and dysfunctional thought patterns. Misinterpreted situations and the underestimation of emotional ability to cope with those situations appear to contribute to the disorder. As mentioned previously, behavioral components include the obsessive thoughts or impulses which precede the application of ritualistic practice (Hansell & Damour, 2008). Each approach has distinct perceptions of OCD and equally distinct methods of

One mental health disorder that remains of interest to me would be obsessive compulsive disorder. This ailment causes individuals to compulsively feel the need to repeat a certain task numerous times in a row to halt unwanted thoughts, feelings, ideas or sensations. If someone with OCD fails to relieve this state of mind by completing their task, they often feel immense anxiety and occasionally even physical pain. This is due to the fact that the disorder causes those who suffer from it to believe there will be atrocious consequences to follow if they do not. These tasks can range from feeling the need to constantly wash your hands, touch things in a certain way, organize everything very precisely or counting things repeatedly. When a person caves to the pressure the disorder places on them by carrying out the behaviors to rid themselves from then obsessive thoughts, it only provides

In the first issues of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), obsessions and compulsions – and then later obsessive-compulsive disorder – were under the category of anxiety disorders. Since then, the DSM has been changed to include a separate category called “Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders” (Ameringen, et al., 2014). This is due to the fact that there are many different factors that differ between anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder, including “course of illness, comorbidity, familiarity, genetic risk factors and biomarkers, personality correlates, cognitive-emotional processing, and treatment response” (Ameringen, et al., 2014, p. 488). These differences are critical for showing the discrepancy between these

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry. The acts of those who have OCD may appear paranoid and potentially psychotic. However, OCD sufferers generally recognize their obsessions and compulsions as irrational and may become further distressed by this realization. Obsessive–compulsive disorder affects children and adolescents, as well as adults. Roughly one third to one half of adults with OCD reports a childhood onset of the disorder, suggesting the continuum of anxiety disorders across the life span. OCD may be a result of changes in your body's own natural chemistry or brain functions. OCD also may have a genetic component, but

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (the fourth most prevalent psychiatric disorder), is an illness marked by the presence of either one or both of the criteria for having obsessive thoughts and repeating compulsive behaviors in order to repress the anxiety that the thoughts provoke. Since first being observed in the17th century, major developments have occurred in the diagnosis and treatment arenas of the illness. Furthermore, “obsessive-compulsive disorder is associated with substantial direct and indirect costs, which are compounded by an absence of recognition, and by under diagnosis and inappropriate treatment” (Stein, 2002). With continued research and development of new technological advancements such as brain imaging,

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is known to be an anxiety disorder that causes repetitiveness that are uncontrollable and performed by an individual. The thoughts and behaviors are usually irrational but an individual may feel unable to resist them. Some examples of OCD are washing of hands and locking the door over and over again.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) has been recognized as a pattern of disordered behavior for several centuries, although it was often related to religious ideas and possession by the devil until the early nineteenth century, when doctors began to define the evident behaviors in terms of mental illness (Menzies & De Silva, 2003). Even still, a diagnosis of OCD was largely considered a life sentence as it was believed treatment resistant until the mid-to-late 1960’s (Foa, 2010).

“The central feature of obsessive-compulsive disorder is a preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, interpersonal, and mental control” (Whiston, 2013, p.275). Obsessions is defined as thoughts, images, impulses, and ideas that reoccur and interfere with the normal day activities. Compulsions is defined as repeated behaviors to reduce an individual’s anxiety. An anxiety disorder, could be one with repetitive thoughts and behavioral rituals that can be completely disabling (Psychology Today, 2015, para. 1). In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, personality disorders and

In the field of Psychology there are a number of psychological disorders as well categories in which these disorders are placed. Psychological disorders are categorized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; the manual is now in its fifth edition, which is known as the DSM-5. In the DSM-5, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is categorized with other compulsive disorders. Obsessive-Compulsive disorder, also known as OCD, is a condition “marked by persistent, uncontrollable intrusions of unwanted thoughts or obsessions and urges to engage in senseless rituals called compulsions” (Weiten, 2015). Some examples of these obsessions or urges include persistent hand washing, counting, and extensive checking such as if doors are locked or ovens are turned off. In OCD some of the actions performed by those who suffer from the disorder become very intrusive and become a factor that interrupts their daily lives and may cause problems at home, work, in relationships and more (Baldridge, 2016). The number of individuals who suffer from this disorder ranges form 2 to 3 percent of the population (Weiten, 2015). People typically begin suffering from OCD between late childhood and early adulthood (Baldridge, 2016). The onset of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder often occurs following a stressful life event (Baldridge, 2016). In order to meet the criteria for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder the compulsions and obsessions must cause distress and cause an

Abramowitz, J. S., Taylor, S., & McKay, D. (2009). Obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Lancet, 374(9688), 491-9. Retrieved from https://zeus.tarleton.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/199044004?accountid=7078

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder(OCD), according to the American Psychiatric Association, is defined as "an anxiety disorder in which time-consuming obsessions and compulsions significantly interfere with a person’s routine, making it difficult to work or to have a normal social life." This, in layman's terms, is simply unwanted thoughts, and actions that cause anxiety, impairment, or distress at the job, in relationships and in society. The most common types of OCD are categorized by: Checking, which refers to an intrusive thought that if one does not check, for example, stove knobs, or if the lights are off, that something bad may occur. This leads one to the compulsion to check such things, and in doing so relieves the anxiety one may have

An Obsessive Compulsive Disorder includes four types and they are intrusive thoughts, constant checking, fear of contamination and hoarding. Intrusive thoughts are when a person is tortured with obsessional brain-work that is disquieting and frightening. As a result of intrusive thoughts being disturbing, it becomes an agony. Intrusive thoughts contain relationships, fear of sexual thoughts, magical thinking, religion and violent thoughts. Constant checking is the want to check things constantly and the obsessive of constant checking is the worry of damage or harm. Constant checking is regularly done numerous times a day for hours. Contamination is the requirement to continually wash and clean and contamination is the obsessive terror that can