Obsessive Compulsive Disorder By Ilsa Chaudary
OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) is a serious psychological condition in which a person suffering from it loses control over his own thoughts and perform some rituals or same actions repeatedly. This makes his life so miserable that the person can even endeavor to commit suicide sometimes.
One in five children and youth struggle with their mental health. 70% of adult mental illness begins during childhood or adolescence, including: depression, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders.
OCD affects certain aspects of your personality that you couldn’t beat out of yourself with a tire iron. But you can manage it, you can get to the point where it’s not running your life. It takes effort.
There are a couple of therapies that are used by Psychologist to overcome this disorder. Some studies suggest that this is caused by low amount of Serotonin (a type of neurotransmitter) in the patient’s brain.
The repetitive behaviors, such as hand washing, checking on things or cleaning, can significantly interfere with a person’s daily activities and social interactions.
A diagnosis of OCD requires the presence of obsession and/or compulsions that are time-consuming (more than one hour a day), cause major distress, and impair work, social or other important function.
Obsessive symptoms
Obsessions are marked by thoughts or ideas that are constantly in your mind and cause anxiety or terror. Some common obsessive symptoms are:
- Repeated, unwanted thoughts
- Images and thoughts of violence
- Believing you may harm a loved one
- Fear of contamination
- Worrying whether or not appliances were turned off
- Fear of being harmed
Compulsive symptoms
Some compulsive symptoms are:
- Constantly counting items
- Repeatedly checking appliances or other items
- Having a strict routine that cannot be altered
- Constant washing and cleaning
- Demanding orderliness
OCD can be extremely serious. For lots of people OCD is something that happens in the background of their lives. OCD can take over their lives; OCD takes over everything and has a massive effect on work and my social life. It also affects relationships. It is really hard for people to understand.
Educate yourself so the more you know about the beast, the better it can relieve the stigma and shame that sufferers often feel, it can introduce you to the various modes of treatment and medication, it can teach you how to fight the battle on the ground 24/7, and most importantly, all of the knowledge will help you advocate for yourself in treatment.
Using basic relaxation techniques, such as meditation, yoga, visualization, and massage, can also help ease the stress and anxiety caused by OCD.
Face whatever you fear head on. Otherwise it will slowly eat you away. The more you give in to your obsessions and compulsions the more you reinforce them.
At a certain point, if no measures are taken, your obsessions will become real to you, you will fully believe in your delusions and it will be much harder for you to get back on track. OCD is a demon, which feeds on cowardice and uncertainty, a demon which will render you absolutely hopeless and unhappy, if you allow it to take over.
Overcoming OCD is a broad and complicated game. But what it boils down to, in my opinion, is that you have to take charge of your health. Even just that very first step – declaring “I am not going to live like this anymore” – is a big one. You can get better. I hope you will.
Living with OCD puts a lot in perspective. It is debilitating. It terrorizes the sufferer. There is a reason it has been ranked as a top 10 most debilitating disorder to live with (among both mental and physical disorders) it tortures. In OCD it is like to live with a brain that feeds you the most horrific intrusive and unwanted thoughts (all day long).
If you think you have OCD, talk to your doctor about your symptoms. If left untreated, OCD can interfere in all aspects of life.When life is tough, remember that you have survived ever day thus far. You have survived OCD. You can survive anything.