Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a nervousness disorder that makes a person suffer from continuous and undesirable thoughts, sensations or ideas which tend to make them have a constant urge to do something. As such, some repetitive behaviors like checking on items, cleaning, and hand washing may interfere with an individual’s social interaction as well as their daily undertakings. In essence, many individuals who have repetitive behaviors or focused thoughts have unwelcomed thoughts, images, and urge which results in anxiety or distress. Compulsions become the only thing that reliefs the stress from obsessive thoughts, which makes it is very difficult for a person to constrain execution of these acts. Thus, some of these acts are mental while others are just visible actions. The commonly known obsessions encompass concerns about aggressive whims, cleanliness, contamination, and the urge for proportionality. Often, individuals with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder experience a wide range of compulsions and obsessions. Typically, persons with OCD identify their obsession and urges as irrational but still have a strong urge to do the mental act as well as repetitive behavior. Therefore, they may spend most of their time each day accomplishing superficially futile rituals that aim their obsessions. If this disorder is not treated, it may become chronic and can affect an individual’s routine, family, schoolwork, job, and even social activities. Hence, with a proper diagnosis of OCD, it can assist victims to regain control over it and feel liberation from the signs and symptoms. However, not all habits or rituals are compulsions since at one point in time every person may double check an item or something. On this note, this paper is an analysis of obsessive-compulsive disorder in people. Its main task is to create a distinction between OCD and ordinary habits (or rituals) and find the most effective methods of curing this disorder.
OCD may be caused by family history where it may be transferred by genes. At some occasions main cause is low level of serotonin or unusual experience or life events that create obsessive thoughts in mind, such as neglect, abuse, and bullying (Pauls, Abramovitch, Rauch, " Geller, 2014). Additionally, the personality of an individual may result in development of OCD symptoms. These include a sense of responsibility and general anxiousness. It may be normal sometimes to recheck your previous actions, such as if a car is locked or if the iron is unplugged, but some behaviors may be a mental disorder. Hence, if a person is suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), then he/she may possess obsessive views as well as urgent actions which tend to be very uncontrollable thereby interfering with the person's daily activities and no matter what that person does the behavior(s) seem not to be shaken. However, there are treatment and diagnostic options that are available to control those behaviors. Hence, with medical therapy in addition to self-help tactics the individual can break free from these undesirable judgments and irrational desires thus taking back control of their life.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder causes a brain stuck on a particular compulsion and thoughts (Grant, 2014). For instance, a person may wash hands till a moment they are scrubbed raw and check for ten times in a row if they have turned off the gas. Despite the individual not getting any sense of satisfaction from undertaking these recurrent activities, performing them may provide relief from the apprehension spawned by the obsessive opinions. As such, a person might attempt to evade conditions that prompt or worsen his/her self-medicate or symptoms by using drugs or alcohol. Even though it may seem challenging to escape one's compulsions and obsessions, there are several things that one can do to assist themselves in a bid to salvage control of those actions and thoughts. In essence, obsessions are spontaneous images, dreams or desires that repeatedly happen in the brain and hence despite a trial not to possess the ideas, a person cannot end them. Unfortunately, these possessive views may be distressing and confusing. Conversely, compulsions are customs or behaviors that make a person have an urge to do something again and again. Mostly, pressures are done in a bid to drive away the obsession. For instance, a person who fears contamination may come up with ostentatious cleaning activity to develop a relief but still not have a lasting effect. Hence, the obsessive feelings always come back even stronger than before while the urgent actions and habits often result in anxiety thereby consuming more time and demanding an individual's attention.
People who were diagnosed with this disorder may be categorized in different ways. Checkers are the ones who regularly check on stuff such as if the door is locked or oven turned off, and they tend to relate this action with danger or harm while washers are persons who fear contaminations and hence have washing and cleaning obligations (Aydin, Arica, Ergul, " Tan, 2015). Markedly, sinners and doubters have a fear that if every bit of activity is no accomplished or correctly done, then it will result in punishment or lead to the occurrence of a bad thing. On the other hand, arrangers and counters have an obsession with symmetry and order hence have a superstition on certain arrangements, colors, as well as numbers while hoarders anticipate that if they throw any slight thing away, something terrible may happen; thus, they compulsively reserve items that they neither use nor need. Patients with OCD may also have other disorders, like compulsive purchases, depression, PTSD, ADHD, kleptomania, tic conditions, and skin picking (Thomsen, 2013).
Despite the fact that a person may have obsessive thoughts or undertake compulsive behavior it does not mean that he/she is suffering from OCD. The main difference lies in the combination of two: thoughts and actions that circularly lead one to another, creating endless chain of anxiety and search of possibility to relief that anxiety. With the disorder, these performances and repetitive actions result in diverse effects and consume time generally up to one hour each day thereby obstructing the victim's relationship and everyday life (Goodman, Grice, Lapidus, " Coffey, 2014). A significant number of people with OCD have both urges and obsessions while others just experience either of the two. The mostly known obsession views are as follows; superstition which is characterized by too much devotion to something that is perceived to be fortunate or unfortunate. Similarly, an individual may immensely focus on moral or religious beliefs, involved in sexual acts or violent images and thoughts. Conversely, compulsive manners may encompass frequently looking for a loved one to confirm that they are secure and safe. Also, a person may store empty food vessels, old magazines and newspapers, pray too much and engage in customs that is driven by moral panic, as well as tapping repeating some words, and engaging in senseless undertakings to relieve the nervousness.
In most occasions, obsessive-compulsive disorder is experienced by teenagers and young adults, however, kids may also develop symptoms that resemble to OCD (Veale " Roberts, 2014). Nonetheless, symptoms of other illnesses such as autism, Tourette's syndrome, and ADHD may be confused with this disorder. To counter this, mental and medical examination is crucial before administration of any diagnosis and treatment. Hence, individuals should do some control measures to resist these compulsive behaviors, and one of such approaches is getting rid of the urgent actions and customs that results in the obsession. Therefore, one should not avoid the fear since this only leads to them being terrifying (Goodman, Grice, Lapidus, " Coffey, 2014). Instead, one should expose him or herself to the OCD catalyst before attempting to repel or defer the drive that needs relief. Hence, exposure to the trigger reduces the anxiety thereby promoting control over it or leads to less fear than what one can imagine. Besides, one should expect the OCD impulses since anticipating for them before their occurrence help in easing them. For instance, an individual who tends to check on the microwave if it is turned off should turn it off the first time with extra care. Creation of a firm mental image and note assist in countering this effect. For instance, the victim should have a self-conversation such as: "I can see that I have turned off the oven" and "the door is now shut." Notably, when one develops the drive, they ought to mock it like: "this is a mere obsessive belief." These mindful activities help in the improvement of the victim's well-being. An individual should also refocus the attention such that when he/she experiences the OCD thought, he/she shift the attention to another thing (Dold, Aigner, Lanzenberber " Kasper, 2013). This can be made with the help of reading, surfing the internet, jogging, walking, listening to music, knitting, playing a video game, or making a phone call. The essence is involving in an activity that one enjoys for a substantial period of time such as fifteen minutes, and thus defer the reaction to the obsessive or compulsive view, and after this deferment period, reassessment of the urge makes it less intense and strong. Thus, the longer a person delays this urge, the more likelihood of its alteration
The OCD makes the brain to remain fixed on a certain nervousness inciting thought(s) hence making it replay itself in the brain (NIMH, 2016). Therefore, to unstuck the thought, a person should write down the obsessive worry or thinking. The same phrases and urges should be recorded as many times as they occur since this shows the frequency of the recurrence and recording it several times makes it lose its strength. Since filing the thoughts is an essential more laborious task that is discerning them, it makes the obsessive thoughts to be eliminated faster. Also, one should come up with an OCD worry time. Thus, instead of trying to subdue the obsession or compulsion, an individual should develop a rescheduling habit to those behaviors. In this effect, one can create a time that he/she will focus only on destructive urges and thoughts after which they take a few breaths to calm down before returning to the day's regular undertakings, and this may help to free the compulsions and obsessions. In case the urge or thought comes across the brain during the day, one should write it down and defer it to the worry time, and this will render it useless at that later time. Similarly, recording the OCD obsessions in tape may help control them by replying it at a later time repetitively, which makes it not so distressing anymore and makes one less anxious. This self-help policy helps in stoppage of the worry.
Obsessive thoughts can be fought with by undertaking a number of steps. Firstly, relabel the obsessive thought that leads to the OCD after pointing it out (Smith " Segal, 2018). For instance, if a person has a fear on contamination and thus washes his/her hands regularly, they should teach themselves to say: "I do not feel that my hands are filthy. I am just having a minor obsession that they are dirty," and to counter the compulsive act the person should have with a self-conversation like: "I do not think there is a need for me to wash my hands. Anyway, why should I wash them? They are clean. I just have a compulsive urge to wash my hands." Secondly, the individual should reattribute the opinion by realizing the invasiveness, and the force of the desire or view that is a caused by the OCD and is likely connected to a psychological, biochemical discrepancy, and as such, the person should tell him or herself: "It is not me. It is my obsessive-compulsive disorder." This will act as a reminder that OCD views and drives are useless since they are deceitful signals in mind. Thirdly, refocusing on another parameter other than the OCD thought counters this condition. A person can engage in another activity and say to himself: "I am encountering an obsessive-compulsive disorder's symptom and I must engage in another activity." Lastly, one ought to revalue the thought by not taking it at face value since it is insignificant. He/ she should tell oneself: "This is a minor useless obsession I am suffering from, and it is meaningless. This is just my mentality, and I do not need to pay any attention to it." This is because failure to pay attention to thought or urge makes it disappear.
In essence, making balanced and a healthy lifestyle changes help in controlling the obsessive-compulsive disorder by easing the nervousness chasing away the OCD worries, fears, and compulsions (Smith " Segal, 2018). This consist of regular exercise since it is an accepted anti-anxiety cure that aid in controlling the OCD indicators by refocusing the brain whenever a person experiences compulsions and obsessive thoughts. For a person to acquire excellent benefit, engaging in an aerobic activity for a significant amount of time such as thirty minutes a day and paying attention to the process makes it more efficient. Also, a person should get enough sleep because lack of sleep worsens anxious emotional state and moods and results in insomnia. A good rest is significant in safeguarding the psychological balance since this is a significant parameter in countering anxiety ailments such as OCD. Also, a person should avoid nicotine and alcohol. When an individual takes alcohol, worries and anxiety disappear for the moment, but when it wears off, anxiety indicators persist and increase. On the other hand, nicotine stimulates nervousness since it is an active catalyst for the behavior. As such, smoking leads to more anxiety and OCD indicators in a person. Markedly, when an individual develops a tendency of relaxing, it relieves anxiety and stress to a greater extent since the pressure is a trigger agent for the OCD symptoms and equally worsens them. Therefore, mindful contemplation, taking a deep breath, yoga, as well as other relaxation tactics, help in the management of urges and compulsions. It also reduces tension and overall strain. On this note, for the best results, engaging in regular exercise should be paramount.
Essentially, OCD victims should reach out for sustenance to enable them to get some help. When a person is all alone, and he/she has OCD, the effects may be adverse and causing them to feels alone and powerless (Dold, Aigner, Lanzenberber, Kasper, 2013). Hence, it is essential to form an active support system that can give them strength and the more connection one may have with the other group members, the less susceptible they may feel. Talking about such urges and worries which results to OCD makes a person feel less threatened. A person may stay conjoined with friends and family. This is because compulsions and obsessions lead to social isolation and which escalates OCD indicators and in this regard, it is vital to connect to friends and family since it helps in talking to them about what you experience about daily impulses and fears. Similarly, since there is a lot of OCD victims around the worls, they should join OCD sustenance groups so that they can tackle the problem as a group and not on the individual level. These groups are a proper channel for sharing own experiences and acquiring wisdom from other people who have the same challenge.
The obsessive-compulsive disorder can be treated by a cognitive behavioral therapy (Figee et al., 2013). This includes two constituents: response and exposure deterrence which entails repetitive acquaintance to the cause of the obsession and then one is restricted from undertaking the compulsive act that he/she believes relieve the anxiety (Smith " Segal, 2018). For instance, victims who tend to wash the hands in fear of contamination may be forced to touch a door handle in a public hotel room and then barred from cleaning up the hand so that after some time the urge and nervousness to wash their hand disappears. Thereby making them learn that performing the custom does not make them ease up but gaining control of the obsessive opinions and compulsive behaviors helps them to get rid of it. Studies by different scholars’ shows that this techniques permanently contains the brain hence decreasing OCD indicators. The cognitive therapy centers on disastrous judgements and extravagant sense of accountability that a person may feel. A substantive part of this treatment technique promotes productive and healthy ways that an individual can react to obsessive thoughts other than undertaking compulsive behavior. However, antidepressants conjunctions may sometimes be used to supplement cognitive therapy, but it cannot be administered in isolation of the therapy since this will render it ineffective in getting rid of the symptoms. As a result of family problems that postulates due to OCD, family therapy is essential to reduce conflicts and enhance a better understanding of the condition also; this can inspire family members to gain knowledge on how they can assist their loved ones who have this problem. Equally, group therapy helps in the provision of sustenance and encouragement and reduces a sentiment of isolation.
A recent study by Smith " Segal (2018), shows that trauma can also be a causative agent in OCD symptoms such as compulsive washing and hoarding manners and this case, it may not be treated by cognitive therapy but by resolution of the fundamental distressing concerns. The assistance of OCD victims requires supportive and calm environment since negative comments and blame can worsen the condition. This act impacts on their recovery as well as outlook. Therefore, one should evade making subjective blames, scolding them since the pressure may make them even worse. Besides, people should be kind to them so that they can recover at their own pace. Markedly, helping them in performing the ritual may worsen the behaviors because it acts as a reinforcement. Positive and clear communication is also vital so that OCD can be contained. Other conditions that resemble OCD may be observed in patients, and family members are body dysmorphic illness which a person imagines that he/ she is ugly, hypochondriasis involves physical health problem, trichotillomania where a person pulls the hair repeatedly, and skin picking also called excoriation (Gorrindo " Parekh, 2017).
In summation, it is evident that obsessively compulsive disorder causes a brain stuck on a definite obsessional and compulsion thoughts. For instance, a person may develop a habit of washing hands until they are scrubbed raw and check several times if they have turned off the gas, oven, or closed a door. Despite the individual not getting any sense of preference from undertaking these recurrent activities, performing them may provide relief from the apprehension spawned by the obsessive opinions. As such, a person might attempt to evade conditions that prompt or worsen their self-medicate or symptoms by using drugs or alcohol but may still be stuck in the act. OCD may be caused by family history, variation in the mind, life events such as neglect, abuse, and bullying, and personality of an individual. Even though it may seem challenging to escape one's compulsions and obsessions, there are several things that one can do to assist themselves in a bid to salvage control of those actions and thoughts. These involves cognitive therapy and support such as family and group therapy as well as undertaking regular exercise. Also, a person should ensure he/ she gets enough sleep and revert to specific obsessive and compulsive actions. Some conditions such as body dysmorphic illness, hypochondriasis, trichotillomania, and excoriation are also related to the obsessive-compulsive disorder.
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