Salkovskis’ Theory Of OCD: What It Is And What It Proposes
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or OCD is a problem that causes great suffering and anguish to those who suffer from it and is highly disabling.
Analyzing how and why OCD appears is necessary to understand it and be able to develop treatments that can overcome it or at least reduce the symptoms. And among the multiple theories that try to explain its operation, we can find Salkovskis’ theory of OCD Let’s see what it consists of.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or OCD is understood to be a type of disorder or psychic alteration deeply linked to anxiety disorders, which is characterized by the experimentation of intrusive, recurring, uncontrollable and egodystonic thoughts that generate a great level of anxiety and discomfort to those who suffer from them as they find them unacceptable or undesirable, although these thoughts are perceived as their own.
These intrusive thoughts They are called obsessions, which the person makes great efforts to avoid or eliminate from their thoughts. Precisely due to these efforts and the maintenance of attention directed at not having such thoughts, the reappearance of the obsessive thought in the psyche is facilitated.
Although it does not occur in all cases, obsessive thoughts often generate such a level of anxiety that the subject ends up performing some type of ritual, whether physical or mental, in order to reduce their discomfort or to prevent their thoughts from having consequences. These acts are called compulsions
Often these behaviors do not have a direct connection with what the person is trying to avoid or are exaggerated for the connection they could have, and it is common for the subject himself to consider said ritual as something absurd but something that needs to be done.
OCD is a disorder that can be very disabling, given that the person spend large amounts of time trying to control your thoughts or perform rituals It usually generates great suffering since the person usually has a high level of hyper-responsibility and a feeling of guilt for their thoughts, in addition to a high level of uncertainty and doubt.
It is not uncommon for the wear and tear generated by constantly trying to control thoughts and avoiding anxiety ends up causing depressive-type symptoms In addition, the person usually has difficulty concentrating and their performance may decrease, something that can lead to academic, work and social problems.
The causes of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder are not yet completely clear, although there are various hypotheses and theories that attempt to explain the reason for its emergence.
An excessively rigid or overprotective education, the presence of a predisposing biology, the inhibition of impulses and desires, the thought-action fusion and aspects such as hyper-responsibility are some of the factors that can influence its appearance. And one of the theories that try to explain how a thought becomes obsessive is found in Salkovskis’ theory of OCD.
Salkovskis’ theory of OCD
Among the multiple theories that try to explain how Obsessive Disorder appears and is maintained, one of the most well-known and relevant cognitive theories is the theory of Salkovskis and his collaborators.
Salkovskis’ theory proposes that obsessions trigger automatic thoughts regarding one’s own responsibility regarding thought control.
The author maintains that one of the main causes of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is the existence of hyperresponsibility, to the point of considering that the person themselves has the power to produce or foresee negative results and that it is essential to act to avoid them.
The existence of a thought that is considered unacceptable It awakens anguish and anxiety in the subject when he considers that he is responsible for something that degrades him, even if what is thought does not have to happen. Compulsions seek to prevent being responsible for thoughts that may have negative (usually catastrophic) repercussions for others.
It is established that on a daily basis we all have intrusive negative and aversive thoughts as extreme as those that can become obsessive, but that in most cases they are accepted as consistent or merely circumstantial, not giving them importance.
People with OCD find these thoughts** unacceptable and punishable**, in such a way that anxiety and discomfort arise in them for having had them.
Thus, a primary factor for anxiety to appear is not only the thought itself but the assessment one has of the intrusive thought itself. It will be this assessment that will cause the obsessive thought becomes recurrent and persistent instead of fading by generating automatic thoughts regarding said thought.
In the case of people with OCD, these thoughts will be responsible for what the obsessions can generate, and they will be the ones that end up making the person feel anxiety and discomfort.
Beliefs and hyperresponsibility as key factors
Among the beliefs from which a person with Obsessive Disorder starts and that end up facilitating and helping the person interpret who has the responsibility to control his thinking we can find the idea that failing to prevent harm to others (or to oneself) is the same as generating it.
Also common is the belief that not doing the compulsion is equivalent to wanting or not preventing the content of the thought from coming true, and that thinking something is equivalent to doing it (at least on a moral level) or that it is necessary to control the own thought, without there being anything that can diminish said responsibility.
The origin of these beliefs is not predetermined, but it is generally attributed to the set of learnings and experiences that the subject has had throughout their life. Parental models and parenting style are some of the most relevant aspects, especially if they have been rigid or excessively overprotective. Also the existence of bullying, or experiences that make the minor feel the need to repress and control her instincts and thoughts, can be risk factors.
With exceptions
Although Salkovskis establishes in his theory that a primary factor in the genesis of OCD is the presence of hyperresponsibility, the truth is that he also recognizes that There are obsessions that are not linked to said sensation and that although infrequent there are cases in which the ritual in question can become less egodystonic or even feel pleasurable.
Now, it establishes that these cases will generally be cases of long evolution in which there are compulsions that greatly reduce anxiety and in which there is no resistance to thought or ritual.
