Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Research Paper

Contamination or Mental Contamination OCD is the need to clean and wash compulsively. It also helps with the fear of contamination or illness. People may have a fear of using public toilets, shaking hands, and being in a crowd. They might have to clean a surface more than once to get it to be clean enough for them. (Different Types of OCD)

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a mental disorder which it symptoms are having routines, or thoughts repeatedly with no ability to avoid the fear and stop them. Some people are aware of those habits, and they realize that those rituals do not make sense, but there is no an easy way to get out of them. Counting all the clothes, shoes, magazines and lie in in a straight line are illustrations when obsessive-compulsive symptoms arrive.

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 characterized by obsessions or compulsions". ( Kring, Johnson, Davison,& Neal 2014) The obsession individuals with OCD experiences are excessive and it affects individuals with functioning normally in their everyday life. According to Kring et al., (2014 ) obsessions are intrusive and recurring thoughts, images, or impulses that are persistent and uncontrollable and often appear irrational to the person experiencing them. Compulsions are when someone has to do the same repetitive behavior in order to relieve distress of what is in their thoughts. People with this disorder also feel anxious and have other anxiety disorders. "Though OCD was considered a type of

People with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder suffer from a wide variety of obsessions but, most people follow similar symptoms. Their symptoms included an obsessive continual thoughts that keeps recurring causing the person anxiety. People with OCD feel that they have not control of the obsession and compulsions. Then the compulsive act come into play to help ease the anxiety temporarily. Some common obsessions fearing germs, constantly checking locked doors and

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the recommended psychotherapy used for treating OCD. This involves retraining of an individual’s thoughts pattern to control compulsion behaviors (Saundra & Noland, 2010). One approach of CBT is exposure and response prevention, which involves progress exposure of an individual to the feared objections such as counting and dirt. It requires effort and practice to ensure that it succeeds (Mayo clinic,

What was the major purpose or problem described in this article? To investigate the effect of season of birth (SOB) in OCD patients.

Washers are afraid of contamination. They usually have cleaning or hand-washing compulsions. Checkers repeatedly check things that they associate with harm or danger such as making sure the door is locked or checking that the stove is turned off. Doubters and sinners are afraid that if everything isn’t perfect or done just right something terrible will happen, or they will be punished. Counters and arrangers are obsessed with order and symmetry. They may have superstitions about certain numbers, colors, or arrangements. An example of counters and arrangers are seen when someone feels the need to turn the light on and off a specific number of times before leaving the house or feeling the urge to assure that nothing is out of place in a room before completing daily tasks. Hoarders fear that something bad will happen if they throw anything away. They compulsively hoard things that they don’t need or use. Obsessions often have themes. “Some examples of obsession signs and symptoms can include; fear of being contaminated by shaking hands or by touching objects others have touched, doubts that you've locked the door or turned off the stove, intense stress when objects aren't orderly or facing a certain way, images of hurting yourself or someone else, thoughts about shouting obscenities or acting inappropriately, and avoidance of situations that can trigger obsessions, such as shaking hands. As with obsessions, compulsions typically have themes, such as: washing and cleaning, counting, checking, demanding reassurances, following a strict routine, and orderliness” ("Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) Symptoms - Mayo Clinic", 2016). These compulsions are performed in the

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.

“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

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.

Elisa suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a disorder in which repetitive, intrusive thoughts and ritualistic behaviors designed to fend off those thoughts interfere with an individual's functioning.

In my case history, Laura and Marna, are both suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder. Although they share identical feelings and motivations, the two friends exhibit very different symptoms considering they obsess over different issues resulting in entirely dissimilar compulsive behaviors. Both women having dealt with OCD their entire lives and remember even as a child having certain compulsions. Marna expresses her serious problems with selecting an outfit to wear and Laura recalls as a teenager spending up to an hour simply applying mascara. Laura and Marna both acknowledge a significant history of illness in their families, and Marna reveals that she went through abuse as a child believing this led to her

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.