Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Essay -- Essays on Anxiety Disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder is a disease that many people know of, but few people know about. Many people associate repeated washing of hands, or flicking of switches, and even cleanliness with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), however there are many more symptoms, and there are also explanations for those symptoms. In this paper, I will describe what obsessive compulsive disorder is, explain some of the effects of it, and explain why it happens. I will also attempt to prove that while medication doesn’t cure OCD, it vastly improves one’s quality of life. Furthermore I intend to show that behavior therapy (cognitive based therapy) is another useful tool in helping a person to overcome their OCD.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder foundation (www.ocfoundation.org), â€Å"OCD is a medical brain disorder that causes problems in information processing.† They compare OCD to a brain hiccup; the brain gets stuck on a certain thought and cannot move forward. The brain is incapable of dealing with thoughts of worry or doubt. This causes many side effects that can clearly distinguish a person as OCD. The text book for Dr. Steinberg’s Brain and Behavior class (that I took last year)spells it out a little clearer. â€Å"Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) consists of two behaviors that occur in the same person, obsessions and compulsions.† (Garrett, 387)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a form of an anxiety disorder. The WHO classifies OCD as one of the top ten most â€Å"disabling illnesses.† (The Practitioner, 1) The most well known side effects of OCD is the repeated washing of one’s hands. However, there is more to this compulsive hand washing then meets the eye. While it could technically be classified as a need to feel cleansed, it is actually more of a fear of germs or other impurities. The cleansing will proceed until the person is satisfied, which in some cases is never. This is the reason a person with OCD will wash their hands repeatedly. People with OCD also are known to have a fear of unlucky numbers or words, illness or injury (which relates back to the hand washing), uncertainty, thinking bad or harmful thoughts against someone, object symmetry, and many other issues, which to a non OCD person, seem almost miniscule.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How is it possible for people to get OCD? I... ...BBC Interactive (BBCi) Science and Nature:Human Body and Mind, retrieved April 5th, 2004 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/articles/disorders/gallery/gallery_case4.shtml?disorder=4&submit.x=5&submit.y=10 (7)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nangle, Douglas W., O’Grady, April C., Sallinen, Bethany J., Successful Medication Withdrawal Using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for a Preadolescent with OCD. Journal of Academic Child Adolescence Psychiatry, 43:11, 1441-1444. November 2004. (8)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Multiple Authors, Fluoxetine in Children and Adolescents with OCD: A Placebo Controlled Trial. Journal of Academic Child Adolescence Psychiatry, 41:12, 1431-1438. December 2002. (9)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lippincott/Williams & Wilkins, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry., Retrieved April 2005. (10)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Barrett, Paula, Healy-Farrell, Lara, March, John. Cognitive-Behavioral Family treatment of Childhood Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A controlled Trial. Journal of Academic Child Adolescence Psychiatry, 43:1, 46-62. January 2004 (11)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Practitioner, 181-183, March 2002.