Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Research Paper

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.

The dictionary defines Anxiety as “A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome”. There are several recognized types of anxiety disorders. One type is Panic disorder; this condition makes people have feelings of terror that strike suddenly and repeatedly with no warning. Other symptoms of a panic attack include sweating, chest pain, palpitations, and a feeling of choking, which may make the person feel like he or she is having a heart attack or "going crazy." The second type is Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); People with OCD are plagued by constant thoughts or fears that cause them to perform certain rituals or routines. The disturbing thoughts are called obsessions, and the rituals are called compulsions. An example is a person with an unreasonable fear of germs who constantly washes his or her hands. The third type is Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition that can develop following a traumatic and/or terrifying event, such as a sexual or physical assault, the unexpected death of a loved one, or a natural disaster. People with PTSD often have lasting and frightening thoughts and memories of the event and tend to be emotionally numb. The fourth type is Social anxiety disorder, also called social phobia, social anxiety disorder involves overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that is the fourth most common mental illness in the U.S. (8). OCD affects five million Americans, or one in five people (3). This is a serious mental disorder that causes people to think and act certain things repetitively in order to calm the anxiety produced by a certain fear. Unlike compulsive drinking or gambling, OCD compulsions do not give the person pleasure; rather, the rituals are performed to obtain relief from the discomfort caused by obsessions (2). OCD is more common than schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or panic disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (6). This disorder can be therapeutically treated, but not cured.

occurs, which is, between ages 8 and 12 and the late teenage years and early adulthood. (National

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

OCD plagues people with intrusive, unwanted thoughts or obsessions, which are rarely pleasant. People who have these obsessions recognize that they are senseless. Still, they are unable to stop them. They may worry about

To live with OCD, is to live in fear. People with OCD tend to need things to be in a certain order. If anything is misplaced or if they do something in a different order, they feel as though their day is ruined. They either need to correct their mistake or do everything over again. People with OCD have the same tasks to do every day. For example, if they get out of bed they need to get out on the same side and put the same foot down as they do every day. If by chance they get out on the wrong side, they will get back in bed just to get out again on the “correct” side. People with OCD tend to do things in a longer period of time. They usually repeat things multiple times until they feel as though they are satisfied. For example, if they

Several mental health disorders are brought on due to both psychological and biological problems. Many of these are anxiety or behavioral disorders. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is one of these disorders that is an issue in both anxiety and behavioral issues. Its causes may be psychological, biological, or, in most cases, both. Many studies have been conducted on OCD and show that it is a complex disorder with many different symptoms. There have been treatments and medications to help reduce the symptoms and help people to overcome the disorder. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder that causes a great deal of stress to people suffering from it, however with proper treatment it’s sufferers can live a healthy,

The movie “As Good as it Gets” depicts anxiety disorders perfectly. The main character Mr. Yewdall was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). He portrayed the symptoms flawlessly. This movie implied that those who are not diagnosed with it do not understand. OCD is a disorder that controls the mind and body. Individuals with OCD at times will do something compulsively unconsciously because they are so used to doing it. A sure sign of someone having OCD is extra cleanliness and counting. As shown in the movie, he used plastic utensils in the restaurant, his apartment was spotless, he washed his hands multiple times while counting, and he was afraid to step on cracks in the pavement. When you have OCD your mind makes you feel that if you do not do things the same something will go wrong. Those with OCD do not like abrupt change because it interrupts their routine. Change brings about fear and confusion with OCD patients.

Obsessive – Compulsion disorder is again another type of anxiety disorder characterized by repeated or uncontrollable thoughts and compulsions that seem to be impossible to stop or control. People that have OCD often do things such as washing their hands, checking, counting, and cleaning to avoid the obsessive thought. The causes of OCD are still being researched, but OCD is now being associated with neurobiology, but is no longer being associated with childhood experiences. OCD occupies 2 percent of the United States’ population in a given year. However OCD can be linked with other mental and physical disorders such as: depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD,) and some anxiety disorders.

Traumatic events can add a mass amount of stress which may lead to the idea that clients with the more severe symptoms of Obsessive compulsive disorder could have been linked to traumatic life events. It was not in every client with obsessive - compulsive disorder that they believed obsessions were formed from a traumatic life event,

Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder is when an individual has unreasonable thoughts or fears about something that is usually unimportant. These thoughts and fears force the person to do repetitive activities that may cause distress. People with OCD can’t ignore that feeling because they would be more likely to stress themselves if they did. The Symptoms in case of Dave made him do repetitive behavior such as how many time he checks if he locked the door. In addition, the fear that he feels when he is doing these repetitive behaviors. I have a friend who has these symptoms of checking things many times and a feeling of fear of something bad would happen if he ignored these thoughts. When I asked him about the reason of doing these behaviors, he said

Obsessive compulsive disorder also known as OCD, is an anxiety disorder. People who have this disorder have repetitive thoughts and behaviors that they cannot control. A chemical imbalance of the neurotransmitter serotonin throws off communication in the brain. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (2015), it can also cause impulses that manifest through obsessions, ideas, and images. The next part of this disorder is compulsions. These are the behaviors that people who have this disorder perform in order to get rid of the uncontrollable thoughts and feelings.

Knowing what OCD is the first step in understanding the psychology of the disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over” (NIMH). The obsessive part of OCD is intrusive, repetitive thoughts the cause anxiety, and the compulsion part is the need to perform an act or ritual repeatedly. The obsession causes anxiety and the compulsion relieves the anxiety.

Now what exactly is OCD? OCD is known as obsessive compulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder. It is characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts, becoming obsessions, and sometimes accompanied by actions, becoming compulsions. A person diagnosed with OCD can have either one or both of these symptoms. Currently, there are 4.3 million people in the U.S., 1 million children and 3.3 million adults, who suffer from OCD.