We often hear people referring to someone as being obsessed with something, football, buying clothes or a TV series they won’t stop talking about. All of these things are commonplace and should not be confused with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) which is a serious mental health condition that can be debilitating for the person who has it and frustrating for their friends and family, who might struggle to understand it.
What is OCD?
OCD consists of unwanted obsessive thoughts, images and feelings that come into your head and won’t go away no matter how hard you try to ignore them. This can cause feelings of distress, frustration and anxiety as sometimes the thoughts can be unpleasant or disturbing.
This results in repetitive compulsions which you feel compelled to perform to help reduce your feelings of anxiety. This can initially help, but eventually turns into a cycle of having unwanted thoughts, starting to question yourself or analyse them, which causes anxiety and stress, resulting in the compulsive need to do or say something to feel better, which initially helps as it provides relief, but that relief is only temporary as the thoughts return.
What causes OCD?
OCD can start as early as the age of six but generally starts around puberty or early adulthood, it affects men and women and has no known single cause, but several factors can lead to its development such as:
- A family history of OCD
- Life events like being neglected or abused as a child, bereavement or childbirth
- Brain injury or changes in serotonin production
- Certain personality traits like being methodical, meticulous, or prone to anxiety
Symptoms of OCD
There are a variety of symptoms that can change in severity and frequency over time, these can include:
Avoidance
- Avoiding people, places or situations that cause you anxiety
- Removing items that you think could cause harm as you fear hurting people
- Procrastinating to avoid feeling anxious or stressed
Checking
- Your phone or computer, fearing you have missed something or sent something inappropriate
- Doors or windows to make sure that they are locked
- Clothing to make sure it’s clean and hasn’t been contaminated as you fear dirt or infection
Correcting Thoughts
- Repeating words, numbers or phrases to yourself or out loud
- Trying to replace negative thoughts or feelings with positive ones
- Doing something repeatedly until you feel you’ve done it right
Reassurance
- Constantly asking people to tell you everything is alright
- Apologising repeatedly to people
- Saying or doing things to gauge other people’s responses
Rituals
- Washing your hands frequently or things around you
- Needing things to be arranged in a particular way and moving them when they’re not
- Touching things at a certain time or in a particular way
Rumination
- Going on the internet to research your obsessions
- Thinking about the same thing over and over again
- Analysing your intrusive thoughts in the hope of stopping them
Help for OCD
There are numerous self-help groups and information online that can help you manage your OCD; your doctor can provide anti-anxiety meditation to help or suggest you try therapy. Therapies like counselling, psychotherapy and CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) can help you to manage your symptoms. Jan, Jeana and Wendy wrote you at Barnsley Hypnosis and Counselling (UK). For more information click the above link.