Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Treatment, Symptoms and Causes

He obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) directly alters the patient’s quality of life. The patient suffers from frequent obsessions in relation to a specific topic and this obsession, accompanied by anxiety, leads to compulsive behaviors. This disease is conditioned by repeated thoughts that affect the patient like a broken record and, also, by the impulsivity of actions with which the patient seeks to calm his or her discomfort. However, he ends up locked in a circle of negativity, since when faced with the stimulus that causes him discomfort, he always reacts with the same response. In this PsychologyFor article, we reflect on the Obsessive compulsive disorder: treatment, symptoms and causes.

7 symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder

The personality of a person who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder can be distinguished by factors such as the following:

1. Obsession over a topicas well as a dramatic interpretation of reality. For example, some patients constantly check to make sure they have turned off the oven. However, despite this recurring check that shows how the symptom of doubt is one of the signs that characterizes this diagnosis, the person may even return home once more to make sure of it. This example is parallel to other specific situations, for example, the patient may need to check that he has closed the door at home or that he has turned off the taps.
2. Wash your hands frequently. In some cases, the patient displays this act of compulsive hand washing because he suffers from the idea of ​​contaminating himself by touching an object.
3. Obsession with cleanliness. This type of disorder can also manifest itself through the anxiety caused by perfectionism due to order in the home. The conflict in this type of situation is that the person ends up cleaning after cleaning. The search for order in the home or workspace is a constructive goal because the exterior space is in constant relationship with the interior plane. However, when a person suffers from this diagnosis, they feel how their quality of life is clearly conditioned by this disorder, since the patient dedicates a large part of their time to cleaning. Sometimes the patient looks for the symmetry of objects in space.
4. Phobias to an extreme degree. Sometimes, a fear can lead to obsessive-compulsive disorder when the patient automatically acts in a certain way to protect themselves from the thought associated with that disorder.
5. Dramatic thoughts about reality. For example, the patient exaggerates the consequences that may occur if that fear comes true. This is one of the reasons why this syndrome also reflects the low tolerance for uncertainty that the affected person feels.
6. Compulsive ritualsthat is, actions that do not show a logical response as cause and effect to an external stimulus. However, the patient repeats the same sequence of steps until his anxiety calms down.
7. Excessive fear of suffering harm or causing harm to others. This type of obsessive thinking can also be conditioned by the intensity of irrational ideas that overwhelm the affected person, ideas that they do not know how to silence.

Consequences of obsessive compulsive disorder

This disorder can appear in different degrees. The same patient may experience periods of more acute symptoms than others. In essence, it is a disorder that produces suffering because the patient cannot definitively calm the cause of his pain, beyond the apparent immediate relief that compulsive behaviors provide. The anxiety It springs up again at any moment, and then a new sequence of uncertainty and discomfort begins.

This disorder produces behavioral, social and occupational effects. This disorder affects the patient’s daily routine so fundamentally that it can involve different spheres of life. Very often, this disorder results in social isolation because the patient ends up locked in himself and in a limiting and very reduced comfort zone.

Causes of obsessive compulsive disorder

Although the exact causes of obsessive-compulsive disorder are unknown, specialists point out that there are certain factors that can predispose to the condition:

• There are risk factors that can increase vulnerability to this diagnosis, for example, family history of loved ones who have suffered from OCD or mental illness.
• He prolonged stress and at an acute level also affect the personal resilience of the subject and their ability to respond to certain situations.
• The definitive causes of OCD are not known, but it is known that they exist personal facts that can act as a trigger, for example, the death of a close person or a traumatic divorce.

Obsessive compulsive disorder: treatment

Obsessive-compulsive disorder can be treated, therefore, the patient can experience a significant improvement in their quality of life.

Sometimes, this treatment includes a combination of psychological therapy and pharmacological treatment. The treatment produces better results in those patients who follow all the specialist’s instructions.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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