People with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) may be overwhelmed with persistent unappreciable thoughts or images.
If anyone in the family is suffering from OCD, then there is a 25% chance of having this disorder in one of the immediate family members.
Unwanted thoughts are obsession and repetitive behavior is compulsion. So, both combined together is obsessive compulsive disorder. Obsession and compulsion are related to each other.
For example, if individuals are obsessed by the dirt and germs, they will develop the compulsion of washing their hands repeatedly.
Afraid of social embarrassment makes people to comb their hair in front of mirror repeatedly and sometimes they cannot even move away from the mirror if they caught by the mirror.
Another example of obsessive compulsive disorder is if people are obsessive about intruder, it will become compulsive for them to lock and relock their doors many more times before going to bed.
If a woman is obsessed with a fear that she might contaminate her baby, she will never touch her baby.
They constantly check the things repeatedly before feeling secure enough to go to bed such as: Is the stove off? Is the alarm set? Is the door locked? Is the television turned off? Etc.
Doing such repetitive things temporarily relieves the anxiety, but performing such rituals is not agreeable.
What Are The Conditions That Lead To Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
The exact cause of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is unknown, although a new research brought some better understanding about obsessive compulsive disorder.
Experts discovered the relation between OCD and serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps the nerve cells to communicate. If the proper flow of serotonin is blocked, the alarm system of brain overreacts and misinterprets information. False alarms start to trigger by danger messages.
In normal persons, actually the brain filters out these unnecessary thoughts, but in obsessive compulsive disorder people, the brain dwells on them making that person experience unrealistic fear and doubts.
Obsessive compulsive disorder starts during early age mostly before adolescence. If proper treatment is not taken, this disorder worsens as the age passes.
Obsessive compulsive disorder will not go away by itself. Individual with OCD needs to seek proper treatment during their younger age only in order to avoid the symptoms to get worse with time.
Medication and behavior therapy helps to treat obsessive compulsive disorder. SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are the medications that regulate serotonin and reduce obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors.
Luvox (fluvoxamine), Paxil (paroxetine), Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), and Celexa (Citalopram) are most commonly prescribed drugs for OCD. Anafranil (clomipramine) is an antidepressant, but also shown to be effective in treating OCD.
Dry mouth, nausea, constipation, drowsiness, nervousness, tremor, sexual problems, weakness are some of the side effects of SSRIs. It should be remembered that SSRIs should not be taken with MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitor).
Having obsessive compulsive disorder is like having other illnesses such as diabetes, flu etc. So, do not get embarrassed in seeking medical treatment. With help, people with OCD can get relief of symptoms and enjoy their usual activities of life.
