OCD Is Not Being “a Little OCD”: Recognizing the Real Disorder
You might have come across someone describing themselves as “so OCD” since they enjoy having their desk in order or their spice rack arranged in alphabetical order. The expression is common and is generally not serious. However, for individuals who actually have obsessive-compulsive disorder, it can cause the severe and frequently tiring illness to be mistaken for just a personal idiosyncrasy. It’s not merely a matter of preferring things to be neat. OCD is a mental health disorder which can occupy several hours of a person’s day, put a strain on their relationships, and make normal tasks seem impossible. The good news is that it can also be very effectively treated. This OCD Awareness Week, here is a more clear understanding of what OCD actually is, what forms it can take, and the role that care can play. What OCD actually is The two components of OCD reinforce one another. Obsessions are thoughts, images, or impulses which keep reappearing and do cause genuine distress; they are not daydreams or concerns that a person decides to concentrate on. They often seem entirely out of character, and this is one of the reasons why they are so disturbing. Compulsions are the actions that a person feels driven to carry out in order to allay that distress or to avoid something bad occurring. There are some that can be seen, for example washing, checking, or arranging, while others take place completely in the mind, such as counting, repeating phrases, mentally going over a conversation, or seeking reassurance. The amount of relief that the compulsions provide is genuine, but it is only temporary. Every time a compulsion reduces the anxiety, the brain concludes that it was worthwhile taking the obsession seriously. As time goes on the cycle becomes tighter and the time spent on it can increase from minutes to hours each day. The National Institute of Mental Health states that approximately 1.2 per cent of adult Americans have OCD each year, and about half of these individuals suffer from severe impairment in their daily lives. What OCD can look like OCD doesn’t have a single characteristic; among the more common themes are: • Contamination: fear of germs, illness, or spreading harm to others, often paired with washing or cleaning • Doubt and checking: worry about leaving the stove on, the door unlocked, or making a serious mistake, paired with checking again and again • Harm-related thoughts: unwanted, upsetting thoughts about hurting someone, which the person finds horrifying and has no desire to act on • “Just right” feelings: a strong need for things to feel even, complete, or exact before moving on • Moral or relationship doubt: persistent fear of being a bad person, or constant questioning of a relationship The third point is worth looking at. Individuals suffering from harm-related OCD are usually terrified when discussing their thoughts since they are concerned about how others will react. Such thoughts are a symptom, not a desire, and doctors who treat OCD routinely hear about them without passing judgment. Why it often goes unrecognized One of the reasons that OCD is often overlooked is that a great deal of it is invisible. Mental compulsions have no outward appearance. Furthermore, many people feel embarrassed about their thoughts and therefore become good at concealing them, even from those close to them. The fact that the term is often used in a casual way makes the problem worse; people who spend two hours each night checking their locks or going over conversations may not realize that the condition they have is called OCD or that it can be treated. It can be worth talking to a provider if: • Unwanted thoughts or rituals take up more than an hour of your day • You feel you have to do certain things to prevent something bad from happening • You avoid places, people, or situations because of these thoughts • The cycle is affecting your work, school, sleep, or relationships How OCD is treated OCD can be treated effectively, and most treatment programmes involve more than one method. Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP); this is a specialized type of cognitive behavioural therapy and one of the most effective treatments for OCD. A person, with the help of a qualified therapist, gradually confronts the thoughts or circumstances which cause their anxiety while at the same time refraining from carrying out the compulsion; eventually the brain comes to realise that the anxiety goes away on its own. Medication—specifically certain antidepressants, particularly the SSRIs—is used as a first-choice treatment for OCD and has the effect of decreasing the strength of the obsessions and compulsions. It may take a while to find the correct medication and dose, which is why continuous psychiatric care is important. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS): for adults whose OCD has not improved sufficiently with other treatments, deep TMS is regarded as an additional option by the FDA. It works by using magnetic pulses to stimulate parts of the brain that are associated with OCD symptoms. No anaesthetic is needed, and most people are able to go back to their normal daily activities immediately after a session. The appropriate course of action will vary from person to person depending on the duration for which the symptoms have existed and on whether or not they have previously responded to various treatments. Because of this, a comprehensive evaluation must be the first step. You do not have to keep living around it. A large number of people affected by OCD take years to build up their lives in accordance with the cycle before seeking help. If anything in this seems to match your situation, then you deserve support which takes it seriously. At Psych Pointe our team offers psychiatric evaluations, medication management, and TMS therapy, providing face-to-face care in Rockwall and Greenville and telehealth services all over Texas; we co-work with your therapist to make sure your care remains coordinated. You can either call us on (903) 231-3151 or ask
