Obsession – Compulsive Disorder What is “OCD”?

(Obsessive compulsive disorder)

Obsession-compulsive disorder is a mental disorder in which the person has obsessions, compulsions, or both and significantly impairs the person’s functionality. In this mental disorder, compulsive, intrusive thoughts and compulsions, repetitive behaviors and intellectual pursuits are seen. These cause great distress to the person and negatively affect their functionality. The person is usually willing to resist their obsessions and compulsions. However, it is known that although the majority of people with obsessive compulsive disorder have awareness, they have difficulty in resisting their obsessions and compulsions.

What are Obsessions and Compulsions?

Recurrent obsessions and compulsions are seen in OCD.

Obsessions are unwanted, persistent, inappropriate thoughts. They cause distress and anxiety. Because they are unwanted and inappropriate thoughts, they can be called alien to the self. It is called alien to the self because these thoughts, impulses or doubts are foreign to the person, do not arise of their own accord, and are a thought, impulse or doubt that the person does not actually want to have. The person knows that these thoughts do not occur voluntarily. However, he also knows that his mind produces these thoughts and that these thoughts are not imposed on him from the outside. The person tries to neutralize, suppress or ignore the obsessions. Obsessions can be thoughts as well as images. The most common obsessions; obsessions of contamination and contamination (such as believing that disease will be transmitted by touching), recurring doubts (such as whether the iron is unplugged), needing to be organized (such as when objects are uneven), aggression and harm obsessions (such as hurting your child), sexual obsessions (such as whether the iron is unplugged). such as sexual relations with forbidden persons), sin obsessions (such as cursing religious figures).

People with obsessions try to reduce their obsessions with other thoughts or actions (compulsions).

Compulsions are repetitive mental acts or behaviors performed to suppress distress and anxiety caused by obsessions. Common compulsions; washing, washing, cleaning, counting, checking, repetitive movements (such as turning the light on and off), ordering and reassuring compulsions.

Examples of repetitive behavior are handwashing, checking, queuing, etc. Examples of repetitive mental actions are praying, counting, and silently repeating some words. The person performs these behaviors or mental acts to avoid distress and anxiety. Often, however, they are not realistically related to the distress and anxiety they want to avoid. Compulsions are made to protect the individual, their relatives or other people due to magical thoughts. It may contain personalized rituals and has strict rules.

The Importance of Resisting OCD

When the person accepts that the obsessions and compulsions are far from the truth, he tries to resist the compulsions. However, when trying to resist, the person’s distress and anxiety increase. When he does not resist, there is a temporary relief in his anxiety and distress. For this reason, after a while, there is a decrease in this resistance and compulsive behaviors become a part of the person’s life.

Is OCD Treatment Possible?

In the studies conducted in the 1980s, the thesis was defended that obsessive compulsive disorder is a rare and treatment-resistant disease. However, current studies state that obsessive compulsive disorder is the fourth most common mental illness, and that very positive results can be obtained from psychiatric drug and psychotherapy treatments.

AUTHOR

Psk. Ayşegül MENTESEOĞLU