Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

We all have our worries, doubts, superstitions, our own way of doing things.  This is common.  However, sometimes they become excessive.  A person may spend hours washing his hands, a young woman may leave the house only to return five times to ensure that the lid is down on the toilet seat, a child may check his closet twenty or thirty times each night for monsters.  When these things happen, a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is given.  The person with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder may recognize that their behavior is strange, but they cannot seem to control it anymore than we control our breathing. If you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, you are not alone.  Around 1 in 50 adults in the United States has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and many more have been treated for it at some point in their lives.  Today there is treatment that, while it may not cure OCD, can help the person live a more normal life despite OCD. It is also important to note that while most people with OCD have both an Obsession and a Compulsion, some may only have one or the other.  What is the difference you might ask?  Well, an Obsessions are thoughts, images or impulses that occur over and over again and feel out of your control.  A Compulsion, on the other hand, is the act that a person performs over and over again.  For example, a person may be obsessed with cleanliness and therefore wash his or her hands over and over again until they bleed.  The desire for cleanliness is the Obsession, the repetitive washing is the Compulsion. The cause of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is not clear.  Like with many disorders, genetics may or may not play a role, and while there is evidence that genetics may play a role in some cases, that is not true of every case of OCD. Reduced seretonin levels may also play a role in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but once again, this has not been proven in all cases, so there is no blood test to see if one has OCD. At present time there are two main types of treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. One, Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy, involves psychiatric counseling and therapy.  The second type of treatment is medication with a Seretonin Reuptake Inhibitor.  It is important to note that while medication does help with many who have OCD, it does not help with everyone. Despite which treatment is tried, education is the key.  A person with OCD should learn as much about OCD as possible.   Read whatever you can find, talk to your doctor, attend lectures on OCD.  Do whatever you can to learn as much as you can about OCD.  It is also very important that a person with OCD find a good support group if at all possible.  There are many good websites devoted entirely to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  My advice, however, is like with anything else you find on the Internet or anywhere else in life, if it is too good to be true, it probably is. There is no cure all for OCD, but treatment and help is out there.   Good luck