What is OCD?
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a mental disorder in which the person has obsessive thoughts, recurrent obsessive behaviors, or both, and significantly affects the functionality of the person.
This disorder is obsessive. It is formed by the combination of obsession, which means thoughts and impulses, and compulsion, which means repetitive mental actions and behaviors.
How is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Treated?
OCD psychotherapy methods, medication or can be treated using both.
Psychotherapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most widely used and most effective psychotherapy method for OCD. With this technique, it is based on confronting situations that cause anxiety and bring out complications, in other words, behaviors (such as checking or washing, counting). During the therapy process, it is aimed to prevent your reactions when you are worried. While most of the applications are carried out within the therapy sessions, the other part is done as homework.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is very effective especially and primarily in patients suffering from complications. For such clients, therapy is often more effective than drug therapy.
Medication
Many effective drugs are available for OCD. The most prescribed are those called selective serotonin inhibitors. These drugs are preferred because they have very few side effects when compared to other drugs.
Improvement is not expected in the use of antidepressants. It takes 1 to 3 weeks for improvement or changes to be seen after drug use. If there is little or no change in symptoms after 5 to 6 weeks, a change of medication may be preferred. Since it takes time to find the most effective drug, sometimes frequent drug changes may be required by the specialist for the right choice and may be deemed necessary. Treatment should be continued for at least six months and may continue for a year or more. Including the psychotherapy process in addition to drug treatment will increase the efficiency of the treatment.
Misunderstandings About OCD
Brief a Obsessive-Complex Disorder, known as OCD, is a type of anxiety disorder that severely impairs quality of life and severely restricts daily life. People with OCD in society are often referred to as "obsessed", "overly picky", etc. described as such. Examples of these mislabelings are;
OCD is only about cleanliness.
People with OCD are organized people.
Religion makes people compulsive.
Characters with OCD in TV series and movies reflect the disease realistically.
People with OCD are just weird types, they can stop their behavior if they want.
Excessive stress causes OCD.
OCD is associated with low self-confidence or intellectual level.
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