Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

"I know my hands are clean. I know that I have touched nothing dangerous. But...

I doubt my perception. Soon, if I do not wash, a mind numbing, searing anxiety will

cripple me. A feeling of stickiness will begin to spread from the point of contamination and

I will be lost in a place I do not want to go. So I wash until the feeling is gone, until the

anxiety subsides. Then I feel defeated. So I do less and less, my world becomes smaller

and smaller and more lonely by the day" (Healthy Place: OCD Community). The writer of

this poem has a disease call Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In OCD, it is as

though the brain gets stuck on a particular thought or urge and just can't let go. OCD can

persist throughout a person's life, gradually worsening. If not treated, OCD can drastically

affect all aspects of a person's life: work, school, friends, and family (Weiskopf).

Worries, doubts, and superstitious beliefs all are common in everyday life.

However, when they become so excessive as to interrupt one's daily life, then the

diagnosis is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a

disorder that is not commonly heard of, but surprisingly it affects 2% of the population,

more than those with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder

(Plexus Staff). OCD is an anxiety disorder that manifests itself through obsessions and

compulsions. Obsessions are unwanted, overwhelming, recurrent, and unpleasant

thoughts. Dr. John R. Smith says, " The obsessions are recurrent thoughts, which an OCD

sufferer experiences as being outside their control, although they know those thoughts are

coming from their own mind." (McShane 14). A person with OCD might constantly repeat

a thought in their head, which can be triggered by an external or internal object. Some

common obsessions include repeated impulses to kill a loved family member, incessant

worries about dirt or contamination, and recurrent thoughts about something that has not

been done properly. A person with these constant thoughts understands that they are

senseless, but ignoring them is very difficult. For example, a person with an obsession

about contamination might have a thought like "Don't touch that door knob, it might

spread a disease," or "My hands may be contaminated--I must wash them." These types of

persistent thoughts might enter a person's mind suddenly or very gradually. The

obsessions intrude into the consciousness of the person, disrupting their normal thinking

and behavior (Silvia 2).

These intrusions can only be banished by the performance of compulsive rituals.

Compulsions are repeated, purposeless, and elaborately time-consuming behaviors that are

usually performed in response to an obsession. The behaviors are an attempt to neutralize

or prevent a dreadful event from happening. Some common compulsions include excessive

hand washing, showering, checking, counting, and hoarding. Compulsions can be thoughts

or physical behaviors that may or may not be set to some self-imposed rules. The person

realizes that their compulsions are senseless and irrational, but do not stop because they

are worried about the consequences that may follow (Penzel 5). If ignored, compulsions

can cause serious panic attacks. But the sad thing about it is that doing the rituals do not

help; they only make things worse (Cronin).

Currently, there are a number of disorders that can be labeled as an

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Among these is Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD).

BDD is where a person has obsessive thoughts about his or her body, looking for

abnormalities. They then spend hours examining the "defective" body part and may never

leave home because of their embarrassment. Another OCD disorder is Trichotillomania

(TTM). A person with TTM compulsively pulls out hairs from their head, arms, legs,

eyebrows, and pubic area. TTM sufferers spend hours searching until the "perfect hair" is

found. They often feel driven to pull out their hairs because they think that their hairs are

imperfect. Tourette's Syndrome is another OCD disorder where the patient is subjected to

uncontrollable motor activities. The person may blink, twitch, jerk their head, or repeat

obscene words or noises uncontrollably. Some others include Kleptomania, Anorexia, and

Binge Eating (Penzel 5-13). The list of OCD disorders goes on and on, but the one thing

that they all have in common are unwanted obsessions and/or compulsions.

As of now, there is no firm theory that explains the exact cause of OCD. However, there

is some evidence that OCD has a genetic basis because in many cases OCD has been

found in children. Actually 1/3 of all OCD cases began in childhood ("Obsessive

Compulsive Disorder Part I). Recent studies have found that the disorder may be