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Obessive Compulsive Disorder
What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder(OCD)?
*OCD is a type of chronic stress disorder that shows itself through a variety of symptoms. OCD causes the brain to fixate on a specific urge or thought that is often irrational and out of the person's control. Those suffering OCD often say that symptoms feel like a case of mental hiccups that won't go away.
DO I HAVE OCD?If I worry a lot?
While worries, superstitions, doubts, and impulses are all a part of everday life, people with OCD find such thoughts and behaviors completely overwhelming. With OCD, the brain keeps replaying worried thoughts. The feelings get worse and worse,which cause anxiety and hopelessness.
*OCD often reamins unrecognized or misdiagnosed.
*On average, people with OCD see three to four doctors and spend nine years seeking treatment before they recieve a correct diagnosis.
*Studies find that it takes an average of 17 years from the time OCD begins for people to obtain appropriate treatment.
*There is no test to check for OCD, so diagnoses are based on the assessment of a doctor, usually a psychiatrist or psychologist.
*OCD frequently goes untreated for long periods because of its similarity with other disorders.
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Trichotillomania(compulsive hair pulling)
Body Dysmorphic Disorder(imagined ugliness)
Tourette's Disorder(sudden tics)
share similar qualities to those found in people with OCD
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SOME SYMPTOMS OF OCD
*People with the disorder usually take on symptoms that reflect a wide variety of obsessions and compulsions.
*Obsessions are the out-of-control thoughts, images, or impulses that occur over and over again.
*With OCD, someone may have obsessions about cleanliness, counting, injury, and/or perfection, among other things.
*PEOPLE WITH OCD TRY TO MAKE THESE THOUGHTS GO AWAY THROUGH BEHAVIORS OR ACTIONS KNOWN AS COMPULSIONS OR RITUALS.
*For example, the person with a cleanliness obsession may spend hours washing his/her hands repetitively and uncontrollably. Of course, we all have rituals or actions that are important to us, but people with OCD feel like they have to do certain things over and over.
WHO GETS OCD
*OCD tends to be slightly more common in females that in males.
*In the US, one million children and teens(guys and girls) have OCD.
*That is about one in every 200 people.
*Living with OCD as a teenager can be very hard, as the compulsions take up a lot of time and energy, making everyday things like homework and hanging out harder.
*OCD is also common amound adults(1 i 50) who agree that the problem started in childhood.
WHAT CAUSES THE DISORDER
*While no specific OCD gene has been identified, some experts believe that the disorder runs in families.
*Despite the ongoing research of the disorder over the past decade, there is no proven cause of OCD.
*OCD comes from a problem with the way the mind handles messages about doubt and fear, so the problem probably has to do with the chemicals that moves messages from the front part to deeper structurs of the brain.
IS THERE HELP FOR OCD?
*Medicine or therapy can be used together or separately in the treatment of OCD.
*Medicines can help brain chemicals work better by making the obsessions and compulsions feel less intense.
*While medicine helps tone down the feelings of worry and fear, experts still recommend therapy for people with OCD.
*Behavioral therapy will focus on identifying and fighting the obsessions and compulsions that come from having OCD.
*In therapy, someone with OCD can start to learn how to deal with anxiety without feeling overwhelmed or turning to a ritual.
HOW SOMEONE DEALS WITH OCD
*At first, people with OCD may feel like the disorder is too overpowering and out of their control. OCD, however, is becoming more understood and accepted as more info and research continues.
*Books, articles, and websites are now avaliable for people and loved ones of those suffering with OCD.
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