Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
... detailed, complex act that is carried out in order to undo some obsessive thought or action that we consider inappropriate, sinful, or capable of causing damage to people or objects.” Another aspect of Obsessive-Compulsive disorder is superstition. We have all heard these, and some of us might believe in a few as well, but patients with OCD have to perform the rituals that will erase it after being exposed to one of these superstitions. For example, if someone spills salt on the table, a person with OCD has to throw salt over their left shoulder. At first, OCD was seen as a medical disorder in the brain. Later on, it was seen as a psychological condition by psychiatrists who were practicing psychoanalysis. In the 1970’s there was a new approach to understanding this disease. These findings were biochemical and behavioral concepts that are now essential for the management and treatment of the disorder. The book talks about four other areas that Obsessive-Compulsive disorders effects, other than the three main symptoms, which are obsessions, compulsions and doubting. The four areas are emotional, behavioral, cognitive and perceptual. There are also more symptoms associated with OCD. Anger, phobias, sexual problems, changes in voice and speech and perceptual disturbances are a few of them. The book breaks down each of these symptoms as well. Aggressive Behavior (Anger) There are three types of aggressive behavior in OCD patients: mental, verbal and physical. Mental aggression is violent thoughts. Verbal aggression is, of course, yelling, shouting, or cursing. Physical aggression can be directed towards people or objects. If it is directed towards people, it is usually only the patient’s family. Phobias There is a difference between someone who has a phobia and someone who has OCD with a phobia. A person suffering from a phobia can avoid the object that they fear, where a person suffering from OCD must take part in rituals in order to control their phobic symptoms. Sexual Disturbances Sexual disturbances are often seen in OCD patients. They may be affected with an increase or decrease in sexual desire, frigidity, and impotence. These symptoms can be caused by the patient’s own view of sexual matters or it may be caused by their medication. Speech Pattern Experts have found that speech may offer clues as to diagnosis and predict the outcome of the patient’s illness. OCD patients are very repetitive in their speech. Their tone of voice goes from very high pitched to very low. They may also speak very fast, probably to catch up with the speed of their own thoughts. There are many different treatments that are used in treating patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Patients are usually treated with medication that is appropriate for their particular problem. Patients may also be treated with many different types of therapy. A person may also have to take part in group therapy to help with their anxiety. In the book, they gave real examples of people who suffer from specific obsessions. I am not going to talk about each one individually, but I will list them all. A person with obsessive-compulsive disorder may be doubtful about everything, have a “touch your naval” compulsion(never heard of that), collecting compulsion, may have a twitch, may become prisoners in their own homes because they can’t face the world, may become obsessed with their appearance, may be “hair pullers” or “body checkers”. A person with OCD may be a compulsive reader, where they may read the same sentence ove...