FREE ESSAY ON OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, also known as OCD causes people to suffer in silence and
secrecy and can destroy relationships and the ability to work. It may bring on shame,
ridicule, anger, and intolerance from friends and family. Although it has been reported
in children, it strikes most often during adolescence or young adult years. The illness
can affect people in any income bracket, of any race, gender, or ethnic group and in any
occupation. If people recognize the symptoms and seek treatment, OCD can be controlled. 
OCD plagues people with intrusive, unwanted thoughts or obsessions, which are rarely
pleasant. People who have these obsessions recognize that they are senseless. Still, they
are unable to stop them. They may worry about becoming contaminated by dirt or germs and
believe they will be tainted by touching doorknobs or common objects. Others may fear
becoming violent or aggressive, or they may have an unreasonable fear they will
unintentionally harm people. Some may struggle with blasphemous or distasteful sexual
thoughts, while others become overly concerned about order, arrangement or symmetry. 
In an attempt to ease the anxiety related to their obsessions, people often develop
ritualistic behaviors, called compulsions. Often, these reflect the patient's obsessions.
For example, an obsessive fear about contamination often leads to compulsive hand
washing, even to the point where the person's hands bleed. Others repeatedly touch a
specific object or say a name or phrase in response to an obsession. An extreme and
intrusive fear of making mistakes on the job may result in a person completing tasks
extremely slowly, even to the point that the job is never finished. Obsessions may also
result in compulsive collecting of useless items such as magazines and newspapers until
they clog entire rooms of homes and endanger occupants' safety.
The most common of many compulsions are washing and checking. Other compulsive behaviors
include counting (often while performing another compulsive action such as hand washing),
repeating, hoarding, and endlessly rearranging objects in an effort to keep them in
precise alignment with each other. These behaviors generally are intended to ward off
harm to the person with OCD or others. Some people with OCD have regimented rituals while
others have rituals that are complex and changing. Performing rituals may give the person
with OCD some relief from anxiety, but it is only temporary. 
These obsessions are unwanted ideas or impulses that repeatedly well up in the mind of
the person with OCD. Persistent fears that harm may come to self or a loved one, an
unreasonable belief that one has a terrible illness, or an excessive need to do things
correctly or perfectly, are common. Again and again, the individual experiences a
disturbing thought, such as, My hands may be contaminated--I must wash them; I may have
left the gas on; or I am going to injure my child. These thoughts are intrusive,
unpleasant, and produce a high degree of anxiety. Often the obsessions are of a violent
or a sexual nature, or concern illness. 
People with OCD usually have considerable insight into their own problems. Most of the
time, they know that their obsessive thoughts are senseless or exaggerated, and that
their compulsive behaviors are not really necessary. However, this knowledge is not
sufficient to enable them to stop obsessing or the carrying out of rituals. 
Because victims of OCD realize their obsessive thoughts and behaviors are senseless and
unnecessary, they may try to hide their problem. They fear people will think they are
crazy or silly, and they may feel that they're all alone. Of course, nothing could be
further from the truth. OCD affects as many as 2 percent of all Americans. Research
indicates that, like depression and bipolar disorder, OCD is caused by an imbalance of
the neurotransmitter called serotonin. This brain chemical, one of many that allows the
nerve cells to communicate with one another, is thought to regulate mood and sleeping
patterns. 
Most people with OCD struggle to banish their unwanted, obsessive thoughts and to prevent
themselves from engaging in compulsive behaviors. Many are able to keep their
obsessive-compulsive symptoms under control during the hours when they are at work or
attending school. But over the months or years, resistance may weaken, and when this
happens, OCD may become so severe that time-consuming rituals take over the sufferers'
lives, making it impossible for them to continue activities outside the home. 
Other research links the illness to biological responses to threats. According to this
theory, healthy people become accustomed to a stimulus that - although originally thought
to be a threat - turns out to be harmless. People with OCD, however, never develop an
immunity to the stimulus and continue to feel anxious. Over time, their anxiety develops
into obsessions which, in turn, give rise to the compulsive behavior. Other theories
focus on the psychological reactions to a traumatic incident during childhood, major
stress. and a biological vulnerability that can be triggered by stress. 
Researchers have found that certain antidepressant medications help alleviate obsessive
behaviors by increasing the amount of serotonin and improve communication between the
nerve cells. Other than medication, behavior therapy has proven very successful in
helping people with OCD overcome the anxiety that they feel if they do not complete their
compulsions. In behavior therapy, a patient is exposed to the feared object or obsession,
but prevented from completing the compulsive behavior. For example, people who fear
contamination may be encouraged to touch dirty laundry and be denied the chance to wash
their hands for a specified period of time. Most often, behavior therapy includes
guidelines or a contract in which the patient and treatment team agree on certain goals.

In conclusion, families may participate in therapy by attending information sessions
about the situations that may cause symptoms to worsen and the ways that loved ones can
help the patient overcome the illness. Often family members can help the patient honor
the terms of the treatment contract, and can also help to identify whether the patient is
experiencing emotional difficulties. It is important for family and friends to create a
strong and supportive environment in which they learn to appreciate progress in their
loved one's functioning and view small improvements as a success.