Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Research Paper

OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is the unwanted recurrent thoughts, actions, or impulses and repetitive behaviors and actions that a person feels driven to perform (Obsessive Compulsive Anonymous World Services, 1999). People suffering from OCD perform a variation of strange rituals everyday uncontrollably. There are different types of compulsive behavior people with OCD display. For example, hoarders fear that something bad will happen if they throw anything away or give anything away. They compulsively hoard things that they don not need or use. These victims of OCD can become obsessed with not only performing actions, but with keeping objects and possessions.

Obsessive compulsive disorder, or ODC when shortened, is an anxiety disorder in which the sufferer has many unwanted obsessions often with many repetitive compulsions. The National Institute of Mental Health says “People with OCD may be plagued by persistent, unwelcome thoughts or images, or by the urgent need to engage in certain rituals.” People suffering from this disorder are frequently washing their hands and keeping things in order. While the exact cause of this disorder is still unknown to scientists. This disorder is believed to have its roots in psychological problems often developed during childhood. Obsessive compulsive disorder is a problem that can be found almost all places around the globe and can be found in almost

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a pattern of recurring obsessions and compulsions that are severe enough to be time consuming and interfere with a person’s daily functioning. They must cause marked distress (such as pain or physical harm to the person) or significant impairment. Usually, they take more than

What is OCD? OCD stands for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a psychological disorder that makes an individual have a great deal of anxiety due to unwanted thoughts. The individual will try to reduce it by engaging in repetitive behaviors or compulsions. OCD is a part of an individual’s everyday life, so it is natural to have some obsessive thoughts. However, when it interferes with your every day lifestyle, then the individual knows that it’s a disorder. An example of the most common OCD that someone may encounter are contamination, accidental harm to others, perfection when it comes to washing, cleaning, or arrangement of things. Obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms can change over time. It is most common

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.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, also known as OCD, is a psychiatric anxiety disorder that is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts along with repetitive behaviors. These unwanted thoughts are called obsessions and the repetitive behaviors are called compulsions. Repetitive behaviors such as hand washing, checking, counting, and cleaning are usually performed with the hope of making these obsessive thoughts go away or even preventing them. These repetitive behaviors are often referred to as ‘rituals’. People with OCD perform these rituals to help deal with the anxiety that the obsessions cause. These rituals only provide temporary relief for the person and usually end up controlling their life. About one in every fifty adults have

Underestimated, unnoticed, and sometimes ignored, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) lurks in the shadows of other illnesses. OCD is a mental condition that has severe to minor effects, but help is always available through Exposure with Response Prevention Therapy and medication. OCD obliterates the ability to think and live freely, leaving its victim trapped in a world of repetition.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating neuropsychiatric disorder with a lifetime prevalence of 2 to 3 percent and is estimated to be the 10th leading cause of disability in the world. Patients with OCD experience recurrent, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive, stereotyped behaviors (compulsions) that last for at least one hour per day and significantly interfere with the individual 's normal level of functioning. The intrusive obsessional thoughts

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD is a medical disorder that causes unwanted thoughts and impulses that are hard to control. A person that has OCD is often aware that the obsession and compulsion that they are experiencing are irrational but they cannot control it. A person’s experiencing OCD has rituals that consume significant amount of time that can interfere with their daily lives and can cause a great deal of distress.

come up with these “rituals” just to get rid of some of the anxiety. “OCD basically affects

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

Obsessive compulsive disorder is a common psychological disorder that is often associated with misconstrued stereotypes. OCD is considered an anxiety disorder consisting of obsessions that are often combined with compulsions. These obsessions are usually recurrent and persistent specific thoughts and be urges. Compulsions make up the second part of OCD. They are repetitive behaviors performed according to rigid rules that are completed in an attempt to help prevent obsessions from becoming true. The compulsions are maintained by negative reinforcement meaning that the patient continues to perform the compulsions because the obsessions are prevented. This idea forces the patient to continue the vicious cycle of performing compulsions to prevent

Obsessions are unwanted ideas or impulses that repeatedly well up in the mind of a person with OCD. These are thoughts and ideas that the sufferer cannot stop thinking about. A sufferer will almost always obsess over something which he or she is most afraid of. Common ideas include persistent fears that harm may come to self or a loved one, an unreasonable concern with becoming contaminated, or an excessive need to do things correctly or perfectly. Again and again, the individual experiences a disturbing thought, such as, "My hands may be contaminated -- I must wash them" or "I may have left the gas on" or "I am going to injure my child." These thoughts tend to be intrusive, unpleasant, and produce a high degree of anxiety. Sometimes the obsessions are of a violent or a sexual nature, or concern illness. People with OCD who obsess over hurting themselves or others are actually less likely to do so than the average person. Obsessions are typically automatic, frequent, distressing, and difficult to control or put an end to by themselves. With these reoccurring obsessions continuously being played in the sufferers mind, they start performing repetitive acts that reassure them that their hands aren’t dirty, or the gas for the stove is turned of. This response to their obsession is called a compulsion.

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.