Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), you may feel you are the only person facing the difficulties of this illness. But you are not alone. In the U.S., 1 in 50 adults currently has OCD and twice that many have had it at some point in their lives. Fortunately, very effective treatments for OCD are now available to help you regain a more satisfying life.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder where a person has recurrent and unwanted ideas or impulses (called obsessions) and an urge or compulsion to do something to relieve the discomfort caused by the obsession. Compulsions are behaviors that help reduce the anxiety surrounding the obsessions. Worries, doubts, and superstitious beliefs are all common in everyday life. However, when they become so excessive such as hours of hand washing or driving around and around the block to check that an accident didn’t occur then a diagnosis of OCD is made.
In OCD, it is as though the brain gets stuck on a particular thought or urge and just cant let go. People with OCD often say the symptoms feel like a case of mental hiccups that won’t go away. OCD is a medical brain disorder that causes problems in information processing. It is not your fault or the result of a “weak” or unstable personality. The thoughts and behaviors a person with OCD has are senseless, repetitive, distressing, and sometimes harmful, but they are also difficult to overcome. OCD is more common than schizophrenia, bipolar disease, or panic disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Yet, it is still commonly overlooked by mental health professionals, mental health advocacy groups, and people who themselves have the problem.
Many people still carry the misconception that they somehow caused themselves to have these compulsive behaviors and obsessive thoughts. “Nothing could be further from the tr...